ON  SUCCCSSWi  BffKffPIHC. 


NECTAR  PRODUCING  RESOURCES 
OF  MICHIGAN 

BY 

B.  F.  K INDIG, 

Director  Apiary  Inspection 


BULLETIN  No.  4. 
March  1,  1922. 


MICHIGAN  DEPARTMENT  OF  AGRICULTURE 


LANSING,  MICHIGAN 


H.  H.  Halladay Commissioner 

John  A.  Doelle Deputy  Commissioner 

Director,  Bureau  of  Agricultural  Development 

W.  P.  Hartman Director,  Bureau  of  Foods  andMarkets 

Horace  W.  Norton,  Jr Director  Bureau  of  Animal  Industry 

T.  FI.  Broughton Director  Bureau  of  Dairying 

The  State  of  Michigan  has  tremendous  areas  of  untouched  honey  producing 
resources.  The  number  of  colonies  of  bees  in  the  State  is  less  than  ten  per 
cent  of  the  number  that  would  be  required  to  conserve  all  the  nectar  that  is 
being  wasted  annually.  It  is  with  the  desire  to  bring  to  the  attention  of  the 
beekeepers  and  others  the  opportunities  presented  here  for  profitable  bee- 
keeping that  this  circular  is  issued. 

JOHN  A.  DOELLE, 

Director  Bureau  of  Agricultural  Development. 


OUTSTANDING  FEATURES  OF  MICHIGAN  BEEKEEPING 


A soil  where  the  clovers  grow  wild. 

Millions  of  acres  of  red  raspberry,  fireweed,  milkweed  and  goldenrod. 
Comparative  freedom  from  drought. 

A cool,  invigorating  summer  temperature. 

Long  days  and  short  nights  during  the  growing  season. 

Adequate  rainfall. 

Sunshine  predominating. 

White  honeys  of  highest  quality. 

Long  continued  honey  flows. 

There  are  over  5,000  lakes  and  hundreds  of  trout  streams. 

Michigan  is  the  summer  playground  of  the  Central  States. 

Tnousands  of  high  grade  beekeeping  locations  unoccupied. 

Winter  temperatures  tempered  by  the  Great  Lakes. 

Abundant  snowfall. 

Markets  unexcelled. 

A constructive  policy  in  disease  control. 

One  of  America’s  greatest  deciduous  fruit  States. 

Dandelion  and  other  early  wild  flowers  throughout  the  State. 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2015 


https://archive.org/details/tipspointersonsu25ulma 


NECTAR  PRODUCING  RESOURCES  OF  MICHIGAN 


Two  natural  factors  which  are  of  extreme  importance  in  honey  production 
and  which  cannot  be  modified  by  the  beekeeper  are  climate  and  soil.  Because 
of  the  unique  situation  of  Michigan,  being  surrounded  on  all  sides  by  water, 
excepting  the  western  boundary  of  the  Upper  Peninsula  and  the  southern 
boundary  of  the  Lower  Peninsula,  this  State  is  peculiarly  favored  in  climatic 
conditions  as  compared  with  the  other  states  in  the  same  latitude.  Inasmuch 
as  Michigan  was  traversed  by  at  least  two  of  the  great  glaciers  or  ice  sheets 
which  came  down  from  the  north  and  northeast,  much  of  the  surface  soil  i? 
extremely  variable  in  character  within  relatively  short  distances. 


SOILS  OF  THE  LOWER  PENINSULA 

Lake  Clay  Areas.  The  best  beekeeping  soil,  the  lake  clay,  extends  from  the 
the  Ohio  line  northward  along  the  Detroit  and  St.  Clair  rivers  and  along  the 
shores  of  Lake  Huron  to  Mackinaw  City.  This  area  of  soil  marks  the  limits 
of  the  old  lake  bed.  Between  areas  of  lake  clay  there  are  found  occasional 
tracts  of  water-washed  sand.  The  best  beekeeping  territory  in  the  State 
from  the  standpoint  of  the  growth  and  abundance  of  clover' and  the  natural 
resistance  to  drought  is  the  lake  clay  area.  The  next  best  is  that  covered  by 
the  bowlder  clay  and  the  moraines.  This  type  of  soil  is  found  immediately 
to  the  west  and  south  of  the  lake  clay  soils  and  extends  as  far  west  as  Lake 
Michigan.  The  clay  soils  are  the  best  soils  for  beekeeping  because  of  their 
natural  resistance  to  drought  and  because  they  are  the  soils  of  best  quality 
and  therefore  produce  blossoms  more  abundantly  and  for  a longer  period  of 
time.  While  the  lake  clay  soils  are  distinctly  clover  soils,  yet  there  are 
many  other  plants  growing  there  which  are  of  great  value  to  the  beekeeper. 
Golden  rod,  Canada  thistle,  basswood,  sweet  clover,  raspberry,  dandelion 
and  many  others  grow  on  the  clay  soils  or  on  their  borders.  There  are  few 
beekeepers  in  the  heavy  clay  areas  that  do  not  secure  surplus  honey  from  one 
or  more  plants  in  addition  to  the  clovers. 

Sandy  Areas.  The  sandy  loam  and  the  light  sand  drift  are  found  in  aroas 
of  greater  or  less  extent  throughout  the  State.  The  <central  part  of  the 
northern  portion  of  the  State,  comprising  the  southeastern  part  of  Antrim 
County,  the  southern  part  of  Otsego  County,  the  western  part  of  Oscoda,  and 
a large  part  of  Crawford,  Kalkaska,  Roscommon,  Ogemaw  and  Iosco  Counties, 
comprise  the  great  sand  plain  and  only  a limited  part  of  these  counties  could 
be  considered  as  of  value  in  beekeeping.  However,  in  travelling  across  the 
sand  plains  one  is  frequently  surprised  in  coming  upon  very  fertile  tracts  of 
heavy  soil  admirably  adapted  to  beekeeping. 

The  Swamp  Areas.  The  swamp  lands  become  more  and  more  valuable  as 
sources  of  nectar  as  we  approach  the  southern  boundary  of  the  State.  The 


6 


yield  from  the  swamp  flowers  during  the  months  of  August  and  September 
often  constitutes  as  good  a crop  as  may  be  secured  from  the  clovers  and  other 
summer  flowers.  In  the  four  southern  tiers  of  counties,  Spanish  needle, 
goldenrod,  boneset,  verbena  and  asters  are  very  valuable  sources  of  fall 
honey. 

It  is  interesting  to  note  the  changes  that  come  in  the  swamp  flowers  as  a 
result  of  the  lowering  of  the  water  level  through  complete  or  partial  drain- 
age. In  the  southern  part  of  the  State,  when  a valueless  swamp  is  partially 
drained,  there  soon  springs  up  a heavy  growth  of  Spanish  needle  which  fur- 
nishes a valuable  flow  of  nectar.  If  drainage  is  carried  further,  golden  rod 
appears  and  Spanish  needle  may  disappear  entirely.  When  the  soil  becomes 
dry  enough  for  agricultural  purposes,  then  the  verbenas,  wild  touch-me-not, 
asters,  boneset,  heartsease  and  many  other  wild  flowers  contribute  to  the 
autumn  honey  flow. 


SOILS  OF  THE  UPPER  PENINSULA 

The  lake  clay  soils  which  occur  in  Chippewa,  Delta,  Baraga,  Houghton, 
Ontonagon  and  Gogebic  Counties  are  the  soils  best  adapted  to  the  growth 
of  alsike  and  white  clovers.  Those  areas  are  now  the  great  clover-hay  pro- 
ducing areas  of  the  Upper  Peninsula.  These  soils  generally  lie  flat,  the  water 
table  being  rather  close  to  the  surface.  They  almost  never  suffer  for  lack 
of  moisture.  This  particular  type  of  soil  occurs  in  a formation  covering 
quite  large  areas  and  therefore  the  possibilities  for  extensive  beekeeping  in 
such  sections  are  very  great.  The  lake  clay  soil  areas  are  spotted  somewhat 
with  water  washed  sand  and  are  largely  surrounded  by  the  morainic  clay  or 
sandy  soils.  On  the  lighter  soils  the  wild  red  raspberry  and  minor  honey 
plants  grow  in  abundance.  It  is  possible  to  secure  a yield  of  nectar  from  the 
clovers,  raspberry  and  other  sources  by  placing  the  yards  on  the  borders  of 
the  lake  clay  area.  The  lake  clay  soils  should  be  considered  as  primarily 
white  and  alsike  clover  territories. 


THE  MORAINIC  SOILS 

These  soils  differ  much  in  their  formation,  ranging  from  a loose,  somewhat 
gravelly  or  sandy  soil  to  a very  heavy  clay  soil.  The  surface  is  usually  rolling. 
The  quality  of  the  soil  ranges  from  fair  to  very  good.  This  soil  supports  a 
very  good  growth  of  clover.  Raspberry  is  one  of  the  conspicuous  honey 
plants  of  this  type  of  soil.  On  these  areas  there  grows  a larger  variety  of 
nectar  secreting  plants  than  on  the  lake  clay  area. 


7 


ROCKY  SOILS 

Part  of  the  soils  of  morainic  formation  contain  such  large  quantities  of  rock 
deposited  by  the  glaciers  that  they  are  unfit  for  farming  purposes.  Also,  a 
part  of  the  rocky  soils  of  the  Upper  Peninsula  are  due  to  the  out-cropping  of 
the  underlying  rock  bed.  The  rocky  areas  of  Marquette,  Houghton  and 
Keweenaw  Counties  are  of  interest  to  the  beekeeper  only  in  those  districts 
where  the  wild  red  raspberry  is  abundant.  Along  the  southern  side  of  the 
peninsula  a limestone  out-cropping  extends  from  the  Canadian  boundary 
westward  into  Wisconsin.  In  the  more  rugged  parts  of  this  area  cultivation 
of  the  soil  is  impossible.  Along  the  edge  of  the  limestone  formation  there  is 
agricultural  soil  which  has  wonderful  possibilities  from  the  standpoint  of  the 
production  of  the  various  clovers.  In  a part  of  this  territory  alsike  and  white 
clover  are  already  growing  in  abundance.  With  the  increasing  interest  in 
sweet  clover  beekeepers  may  well  look  with  favor  upon  the  more  rugged  lime- 
stone formations  as  an  area  on  which  a perpetual  cropping  of  sweet  clover 


Map  showing  relative  number  of  colonies  of  bees  in  the  various  counties  in  Michigan.  These  figures 
were  taken  from  the  census  report  and  represent  about  one-half  of  the  colonies  owned  within  the  State. 
This  error  is  in  the  census  because  no  inquiry  is  made  in  regard  to  bees  in  cities  and  towns.  Most  of 
our  larger  beekeepers  live  in  cities  and  towns  and  operate  their  out-yards  from  their  homes. 


8 


could  be  expected.  Fortunately,  much  of  the  limestone  formation  lies 
adjacent  to  the  morainic  clay  and  the  lake  clay  areas.  Again  the  oppor- 
tunities of  migratory  beekeeping  are  presented. 

Sandy  Soils.  Part  of  the  sandy  soils,  especially  those  of  the  highest  quality, 
lie  within  the  morainic  clay  areas.  The  larger  part  of  the  sandy  areas  are 
sand  plains  which  are  the  outwash  plains  formed  at  the  foot  of  the  glaciers. 
Excepting  the  best  quality  of  sandy  soils,  this  type  is  not  of  interest  to  the 
beekeepers.  It  should  be  noted  that  the  rocky,  sandy  and  swamp  soils  are 
very  much  in  the  minority,  as  65  per  cent  of  the  surface  of  the  Upper  Penin- 
sula is  agricultural  land. 

Swamps.  The  swamp  areas  are  contained  largely  in  Schoolcraft  and  Luce 
counties,  although  small  swamp  areas  may  be  found  in  all  parts  of  the  Upper 
Peninsula.  The  swamps  do  not  offer  desirable  locations  for  beekeeping 
excepting  that  in  some  years,  aster,  goldenrod,  boneset,  willow  herb,  and 
other  nectar  secreting  plants  appear  in  abundance.  At  such  times  the  bee- 
keeper could  move  his  colonies  there  to  take  advantage  of  the  late(nectar  flow. 
Willow  herb  is  a conspicuous  flower  for  several  years  after  the  swamps  have 
been  burned  over. 


CLIMATE  OF  MICHIGAN 

Temperature.  As  Michigan  is  almost  surrounded  by  water,  the  climate  is 
greatly  modified  by  its  influence.  As  shown  in  the  accompanying  map  the 
mean  temperature  for  the  month  of  January  in  the  Upper  Peninsula  is  the 
same  as  in  central  and  southern  Wisconsin,  northern  Illinois,  Iowa  and  north- 
ern Nebraska.  The  Weather  Bureau  records  show  that  on  the  eastern  shore 
of  Lake  Michigan  in  winter,  the  temperature  is  often  ten  degrees  higher  than 
at  points  directly  across  the  lake  in  Wisconsin.  In  the  summer  the  tem- 
perature on  the  Michigan  side  is  correspondingly  cooler  than  on  the  western 
side  of  the  lake.  It  will  be  noted  that  during  the  winter  the  temperature 
along  the  Great  Lakes  is  much  higher  than  east  or  west  of  those  points  inland. 
The  influence  of  the  Great  Lakes  extends  for  many  miles  back  from  the  shore. 
This  should  be  particularly  noted  in  the  Upper  Peninsula.  The  cool  even  tem- 
perature of  winter  is  conducive  to  the  health  of  all  animal  and  plant  life. 
While  extremes  in  temperature  are  sometimes  experienced  in  winter,  most 
cold  waves  are  very  much  moderated  in  passing  over  the  great  surface  areas 
of  the  surrounding  lakes. 

The  length  of  the  growing  season  is  determined  by  computing  the  number 
of  days  between  the  last  killing  frost  in  spring  and  the  first  killing  frost  in 
autumn.  It  should  be  especially  observed  that  the  area  previously  described 
as  the  sand  plain  area  of  the  Southern  Peninsula  has  the  shortest  growing 
season.  Iii  the  Upper  Peninsula  that  part  which  is  farthest  inland  from  the 
Great  Lakes  and  where  the  surface  lies  the  highest  has  the  shortest  growing 
season.  It  is  particularly  noticeable  that  for  a number  of  miles  back  from 


9 


TABLE  OF  COMPARATIVE  TEMPERATURES 


Compiled,  by  U.  S.  Weather  Bureau , D.  A.  Seeley , Chief , East  Lansing , Mich. 


Name  of  station. 

Mean 

temperature 

January. 

Lowest  on 
record. 

Average 
length  of 
growing 
season. 

Upper  Peninsula — Michigan : 

Soo  Ste.  Marie 

15.0 

—37 

138 

Marquette 

17.0 

—27 

147 

Humboldt 

10.7 

—49 

79 

Escanaba 

15.5 

—32 

147 

Menominee 

18.1 

—27 

149 

Houghton 

16.4 

—27 

151 

Lower  Peninsula — Michigan : 

Lansing 

22.8 

—26 

159 

Detroit 

24.3 

—24 

164 

Grand  Rapids 

23.8 

—24 

164 

Grand  Haven 

24.6 

—25 

165 

Port  Huron 

22.5 

—25 

157 

Alpena 

19.0 

—27 

138 

Wisconsin : 

Madison 

16.9 

—29 

180 

LaCrosse 

15.9 

—43 

162 

Milwaukee 

20.5 

—25 

163 

Green  Bay 

16.4 

—36 

153 

Stevens  Point 

14.8 

—48 

124 

Hancock 

15.3 

—35 

132 

Fond  du  lac  . 

17.0 

— 44 

150 

Minnesota : 

Park  Rapids 

3.5 

—51 

122 

Pembina 

—2.4 

—59 

104 

Duluth 

10.4 

— 41 

153 

Moorhead 

2.9 

—48 

132 

Milan 

10.5 

— 40 

130 

St.  Paul 

11.9 

—41 

159 

North  Dakota: 

Devils  Lake 

0.8 

—51 

121 

Bismarck 

7.0 

— 44 

129 

Williston 

6.1 

— 49 

119 

South  Dakota: 

Huron 

10.8 

—43 

131 

Pierce 

17  9 

— 40 

153 

Rapid  City 

22.9 

—34 

143 

Nebraska : 

Valentine 

22.0 

—38 

132 

North  Platte 

22.9 

—35 

151 

Lincoln 

22.6 

—29 

174 

Iowa: 

Sioux  City 

19.4 

—31 

146 

Charles  City 

15.5 

—31 

133 

Des  Moines 

19.9 

—30 

171 

Dubuque 

18.6 

—32 

176 

Davenport 

21.4 

—27 

174 

Keokuk 

23.7 

—27 

200 

*%2.ro 


10 


Heavy  black  lines  show  mean  temperature  for  January.  Figures  show  lowest  temperature  on  record  at  each  station.  Data  compiled  by 

U.  S.  Weather  Bureau,  D.  A.  Seeley,  Chief,  East  Lansing,  Mich. 


11 


shore,  in  circling  the  whole  Upper  Peninsula,  the  growing  season  is  more  than 
120  days  and  near  the  shore  where  the  lake  influence  is  greatest  the  growing 
season  is  from  140  to  150  days,  this  being  nearly  equal  to  the  growing  season 
in  the  south  central  part  of  the  Lower  Peninsula. 

The  absence  of  extremely  hot  weather  in  summer  and  of  extremely  cold 
weather  in  winter  is  a matter  of  tremendous  importance  in  beekeeping.  The 
moderate  heat  in  summer  is  sufficient  to  produce  a very  heavy  flow  of  nectar 
but  does  not  dry  the  soil  excessively.  This  results  in  uniformly  heavy  honey 
flows  of  long  duration — one  of  the  outstanding  characteristics  in  Michigan 
beekeeping.  The  cooler  summers  also  cause  the  production  of  a very  white 
mild  flavored  honey  as  compared  with  honey  from  the  same  sources  produced 
where  the  temperature  is  higher.  This  feature  of  our  climate  insures  very 
high  grade  honey.  Outdoor  wintering  of  bees  is  being  successfully  practiced 
in  all  parts  of  the  State.  Cellar  wintering  is  also  satisfactory  in  all  sections. 


RAINFALL 

The  accompanying  map  shows  that  with  the  exception  of  two  very  small 
areas  the  average  annual  rainfall  is  more  than  26  inches.  It  is  a significant 
coincidence  that  those  areas  which  receive  the  smallest  amount  of  rainfall 
are  so  favored  by  soil  and  temperature  that  they  do  not  need  the  heavy  rain- 
fall which  is  found  in  some  other  parts  of  the  State.  In  the  “Thumb”  dis- 
trict of  the  Lower  Peninsula  where  the  rainfall  is  smallest,  the  soil  is  the  sur- 
face of  the  old  lake  bed  and  withstands  the  lack  of  moisture  exceedingly  well. 
In  the  Upper  Peninsula  the  excessive  heat  of  southern  latitudes  is  conspicu- 
ously absent.  Cloverland,  as  the  Upper  Peninsula  is  commonly  called,  is 
particularly  free  from  drought.  The  rainfall  also  is  so  distributed  through 
the  year  so  that  the  most  rain  falls  at  the  time  it  is  most  needed.  In  the 
Upper  Peninsula,  during  the  months  of  May,  June,  July,  August  and  Sep- 
tember, the  rainfall  is  three  inches  per  month  or  more.  During  the  rest  of 
the  year  the  amount  of  rain  does  not  approach  three  inches  and  is  only  about 
one  inch  per  month  during  January,  February  and  March.  The  same  con- 
dition holds  true  to  a greater  or  lesser  extent  for  the  Lower  Peninsula.  It 
will  thus  be  seen  that  Michigan  is  favored  by  having  the  greater  part  of  its 
rainfall  at  the  time  that  the  crops  are  most  in  need  of  it.  While  the  precipi- 
tation in  winter  is  less  than  in  summer,  yet  the  ground  in  winter  is  usually 
well  covered  with  a blanket  of  snow.  Snow  that  falls  in  early  December 
may  not  melt  until  in  late  March. 


SUNSHINE 

Michigan  lies  principally  between  the  latitudes  of  42°  and  47°.  While 
the  length  of  the  growing  season  becomes  shorter  in  number  of  days  with 
the  distance  from  the  equator,  yet  that  is  compensated  for  to  a great  extent 
by  the  fact  that  the  hours  of  sunlight  each  day  are  greater  than  farther  south. 
During  the  longest  days  of  summer  there  are  15J/2  hours  of  daylight  in  the 
Upper  Peninsula.  In  the  vicinity  of  Lansing  there  are  only  15  hours  of  day- 
light and  in  the  states  farther  to  the  south  of  us  the  number  of  hours  of  daylight 


12 


are  correspondingly  less,  so  while  the  growing  season  of  120  days  for  -example 
might  seem  short  to  some,  yet  the  added  hours  of  daylight  in  reality 
makes  the  season  much  longer.  A growing  season  must  be  measured  in 
hours  of  sunlight  as  well  as  in  number  of  days.  Atmospheric  conditions  are 
such  that  the  number  of  cloudy  days  during  the  summer  is  very  small  outside 
of  the  time  when  rain  is  actually  falling.  The  very  high  per  cent  of  the 
possible  hours  of  sunshine  is  one  of  the  factors  which  results  in  such  rapid 
plant  growth  in  the  Upper  Peninsula.  It  has  been  amply  demonstrated  that 
the  light  of  twilight  and  dawm  is  sufficient  to  cause  plant  growth.  In  the 
summer,  during  the  long  days,  twilight  may  continue  until  ten  o’clock  at 
night  and  dawn  is  evident  before  three  o’clock  in  the  morning.  With  favor- 
able temperatures  and  rainfall,  plant  growth  may  be  much  greater  per  day 
than  in  the  states  along  the  Gulf  of  Mexico. 


Map  showing  average  annual  rainfall  in  inchs.  Courtesy  U.  S.  Weather  Bureau,  E.  Lansing.^Mich. 


13 


EFFECT  OF  THE  CLIMATE  ON  THE  QUALITY  OF  HONEY 

It  is  a well  established  fact  that  many  of  the  plants  which  yield  a dark  honey 
in  the  warmer  southern  states  yield  a much  lighter  colored  honey  in  the  north. 
The  honey  from  white  clover  south  of  the  Ohio  River  may  grade  from  light 
amber  to  amber  in  color.  Our  favorable  latitude  together  with  desirable 
climatic  conditions  causes  our  honey  to  be  of  exceptionally  light  color.  In 
those  parts  of  the  United  States  where  the  atmosphere  is  humid  the  honey 
seems  to  contain  a higher  per  cent  of  moisture  than  in  the  drier  climates. 
While  Michigan  can  not  be  considered  a dry  climate,  yet  the  absence  of  undue 
humidity  between  rains  gives  the  bees  an  opportunity  to  thoroughly  evapor- 
ate the  nectar.  Michigan  honey  has  long  been  famous  for  its  very  light 
color  and  heavy  waxy  body.  Michigan  honey  frequently  commands  a price 
of  from  three  to  eight  cents  per  pound  higher  than  honey  from  the  same 
source  in  less  favored  states. 


THE  UPPER  PENINSULA  AS  A BEEKEEPING  LOCATION 

Parts  of  the  Upper  Peninsula  have  been  devoted  to  farming  for  more  than 
sixty  years.  In  many  of  the  counties  there  are  old  settled  localities  that 
remind  one  of  the  farming  districts  of  the  states  to  the  South  and  East.  In 
such  places  schools,  churches  and  roads  are  of  the  very  best.  There  are 
many  thriving  cities  which  furnish  adequate  markets.  Among  these  might 
be  named : 


Bessemer 

. . 5,500 

Iron  Mountain 

9,200 

Calumet  and  vicinity . . 

..40,000 

Ishpeming 

12,500 

Crystal  Falls 

. . 3,500 

Manistique 

6,400 

Escanaba 

. .13,200 

Menominee 

9,000 

Houghton 

. . 5,200 

Munising 

5,000 

Hancock 

. . 9,000 

Marquette 

15,000 

Iron  wood 

. .15,700 

Negaunee 

Soo  Ste.  Marie 

8,500 

12,700 

Until  within  recent  years  lumbering  and  mining  have  been  the  chief  indus- 
tries of  the  Upper  Peninsula.  As  long  as  timber  was  abundant  little  thought 
was  given  to  agriculture.  The  result  is  that,  with  the  exception  of  a few  of 
the  older  settled  tracts,  agriculture  is  a new  pursuit.  Since  most  of  the 
Peninsula  has  been  lumbered  off,  and  much  of  it  many  years  ago,  there  are 
today  tremendous  areas  of  fertile  cut-over  land  on  which  a furrow  has  never 
been  turned.  In  some  places  a second  growth  of  timber  has  come  on.  In 
other  places  the  fires  have  destroyed  all  of  the  smaller  trees  and  seedings. 
Where  the  fire  damage  has  not  been  too  severe,  the  clovers  and  raspberries 
have  survived.  These  plants  sometimes  cover  areas  of  many  townships. 

Beekeepers  in  southern  Michigan,  Wisconsin  and  Minnesota  supply  the 
Upper  Peninsula  with  practically  all  of  the  honey  that  is  sold  there.  From 


14 


a marketing  standpoint  the  territory  is  unsurpassed.  The  Upper  Peninsula 
must  not  be  thought  of  entirely  as  a pioneering  or  home-steading  country. 
The  people  have  wealth  and  culture.  There  are  many  farms  as  modern  as 
any  in  the  State.  The  buying  power  of  the  population  is  above  the  average. 

Beekeepers  seeking  new  locations  can  find  anything  they  desire  from  the 
typical  American  city  to  the  sparsely  populated  areas  of  the  grazing  or  cut- 
over lands.  Villages  and  small  towns  are  scattered  at  convenient  intervals 
throughout  the  Peninsula.  The  beekeeper  who  desires  to  live  in  a town  where 
he  and  his  family  may  enjoy  social  and  educational  advantages  can  easily 
find  such  a desirable  place  with  unlimited  beekeeping  territory  conveniently 
near.  The  wonderful  system  of  State  roads  for  which  Michigan  is  justly 
famous  is  rapidly  linking  together  all  the  larger  cities  and  towns. 

Nearly  all  of  the  bees  in  the  Upper  Peninsula  are  wintered  out  of  doors. 
All  of  the  larger  beekeepers  prefer  packing  the  bees  outside.  The  great 
blanket  of  snow  which  covers  the  Peninsula  in  winter  protects  the  colonies 
from  the  winds  and  from  the  cold.  When  it  is  known  that  the  soil  of  the 
Upper  Peninsula  during  many  winters  is  not  frozen  and  that  potatoes  are 
often  dug  in  the  spring  instead  of  in  the  fall,  then  the  beekeepers  of  farther 
south  will  understand  why  bees  can  be  perfectly  wintered  outdoors. 

Someone  has  said  that  there  are  only  two  seasons  in  the  Upper  Peninsula — 
winter  and  summer.  Springtime  is  of  short  duration.  The  long  hours  of 
daylight  push  the  plant  growth  with  a rapidity  never  witnessed  even  in  south- 
ern Michigan.  Bees  build  up  with  extreme  rapidity.  The  honey  flow  opens 
in  June  and  continues  for  the  most  part  until  the  frosts  in  autumn  kill  the 
flowers.  Comb  honey  is  produced  on  the  shores  of  Lake  Superior.  Extracted 
honey  production  is  more  general  and  is  much  more  profitable  than  comb 
honey  production.  It  must  be  remembered  that  for  maximum  crop  produc- 
tion these  factors  must  be  present  in  a beekeeping  location:  Ample  rainfall, 
a rich  soil  which  is  retentive  of  moisture  and  adequately  supplied  with  lime, 
favorable  temperature,  the  maximum  amount  of  sunshine  and  daylight  and 
no  excessive  humidity.  All  these  essentials  are  present  to  a remarkable 
degree  on  all  the  better  types  of  beekeeping  soil  throughout  the  State. 


AGRICULTURAL  CONDITIONS  IN  THE  LOWER  PENINSULA 

The  southern  half  or  more  of  the  Lower  Peninsula  does  not  differ  materially 
from  the  older  settled  states.  Agriculture  is  highly  developed.  Cities  and 
towns  are  numerous,  State  roads  have  been  built  and  are  well  kept  up.  Every- 
thing that  characterizes  an  intelligent  and  prosperous  country  is  present. 

The  northern  part  of  the  Lower  Peninsula  and  the  Upper  Peninsula  is  the 
great  summer  play  ground  of  the  Central  States.  With  its  thousands  of  lakes 
and  trout  streams,  with  a climate  that  is  unexcelled  and  because  of  the  absence 
of  hay-fever  and  asthma,  thousands  of  people  from  adjacent  states  flock  to 
Northern  Michigan  for  the  summer.  The  summer  tourist  is  the  beekeeper’s 
opportunity  which  at  the  present  time  he  is  not  recognizing.  The  bee- 
keepers of  this  region  could  build  up  a tremendous  trade  in  honey  to  be 
shipped  later  by  parcel  post  or  otherwise  to  the  homes  of  the  summer 
visitors  from  other  states. 

There  are  great  areas  throughout  the  upper  half  of  the  Lower  Peninsula 
where  very  little  farming  is  carried  on.  The  clovers,  milk  weed,  fire  weed, 


15 


and  raspberry  often  grow  in  considerable  areas  beyond  the  range  of  the  present 
beekeepers  of  that  region.  While  there  are  districts  in  which  beekeeping  is 
carried  on  in  a commercial  way,  yet  the  unoccupied  territory  is  probably  in 
excess  of  that  which  is  occupied. 

In  the  southern  half  of  the  Lower  Peninsula  there  are  also  many  unused 
locations.  There  are,  however,  many  thousands  of  beekeepers  widely  scat- 
tered through  this  district  . See  map  on  page  7 showing  colonies  of  bees  by 
counties.  The  opportunity  for  a new  good  location  is  in  the  northern  part 
of  the  Lower  Peninsula  and  in  the  Upper  Peninsula. 

The  markets  of  the  Lower  Peninsula  are  excellent.  Ninety  per  cent  of 
Michigan’s  honey  crop  is  consumed  locally  or  sold  to  merchants  or  housewives 
without  passing  through  the  hands  of  the  wholesaler.  Detroit,  the  fourth 
city  in  size  in  the  United  States  and  having  a population  of  over  one  million, 
could  absorb  all  the  honey  that  goes  into  the  wholesale  trade  in  addition  to 
what  is  already  being  sold  there.  Consider  the  potential  buying  power  of  the 
following  cities  in  the  Lower  Peninsula: 


Ann  Arbor 

....  20,000 

Jackson 

48,374 

Battle  Creek 

....  36,164 

Kalamazoo 

48,858 

Bay  City 

....  60.000 

Lansing 

57,327 

Detroit 

. . .1,050,000 

Muskegon 

36,570 

Flint 

91,599 

Pontiac 

34,273 

Grand  Rapids . . . . 

...  137,634 

Port  Huron 

Saginaw 

25,944 

65,648 

NECTAR  SECRETING  PLANTS 


The  following  are  the  chief  sources  of  nectar  in  Michigan : 


White  Honey 
Alsike  clover 
White  clover 
Wild  red  raspberry 
Milk  weed 

Fire  weed  or  willow  herb 
Sweet  clover 
Basswood 
Alfalfa 

Canada  thistle 

Asters 

Verbena 

Mints 

Blackberry 

Maples 


Light  Amber  or  Amber  Honey 
Golden  rod 
Spanish  needle 
Buckwheat 
Boneset 
Fruit  bloom 
Dandelion 
Heartsease 
Cucumber 


Alsike  and  White  Clover.  Both  of  these  clovers  are  ordinarily  found  in  the 
same  territory.  The  alsike  clover,  however,  is  particularly  adapted  to  the 
low  lying  heavy  soils  of  the  old  lake  bed.  Both  clovers  are  found  in  abun- 
dance wherever  the  quality  of  the  soil  is  such  as  to  be  good  farming  land. 
Alsike  is  more  tolerant  than  white  clover  in  that  it  makes  a good  growth  on 


soils  somewhat  deficient  in  lime  and  insufficiently  drained.  In  the  days  of 
the  lumbering  industry  the  alsike  clover  seed  was  scattered  along  the  logging 
trails  through  the  hauling  of  hay.  Today  alsike  clover  is  found  growing  wild 
in  almost  unbelievable  quantities  throughout  the  cut-over  lands  wherever 
the  soil  is  good.  These  two  plants  constitute  the  chief  sources  of  nectar  in 
Michigan.  In  the  Upper  Peninsula  and  in  the  northern  part  of  the  Low'er 
Peninsula  there  are  thousands  of  acres  of  alsike  clover  growing  wild  with  no 
bees  near  enough  to  gather  any  of  the  nectar.  The  number  of  colonies  in 
the  alsike  districts  of  the  whole  State  could  be  increased  to  five  times  their 
present  number  without  crowding.  Alsike  and  white  clover  produces  a 
heavy  white  honey  of  the  very  best  flavor.  It  is  this  honey  that  has  contrib- 
uted largely  to  making  Michigan  famous  for  its  high  grade  honey. 

Red  Raspberry.  A heavy  growth  of  red  raspberry  followed  the  cutting  of 
the  timber,  chiefly  on  the  hard  wood  lands.  When  undisturbed  by  fires  the 
raspberry  grows  in  such  profusion  that  it  is  almost  impossible  to  penetrate 
the  thickets.  Raspberry  blooms  about  two  weeks  previous  to  the  beginning 
of  the  alsike  bloom.  The  two  honey  flows  frequently  overlap.  The  honey 
is  light  in  color,  mild  in  flavor  and  is  very  much  sought  after  because  of  its 
excellent  quality.  The  growing  scarcity  of  raspberry  honey  places  the  bee- 
keeper in  raspberry  districts  in  a position  where  he  can  demand  and  receive 
several  cents  per  pound  premium  over  the  price  of  other  honeys. 

Fire  Weed  or  Willow  Herb.  This  plant  was  at  one  time  quite  common  as 
far  south  as  Lansing.  It  cannot  withstand  civilization  and  so  is  found  today 
in  areas  of  importance  to  beekeeping  only  on  the  cut-over  lands  and  swamps 
of  the  northern  part  of  the  State.  Following  the  forest  fires,  willow  herb 
springs  up  and  gives  an  excellent  flow  of  water-white  honey  of  the  finest 
quality  for  several  years.  As  the  raspberry  and  other  plants  become  re-estab- 
lished the  fire  weed  gradually  disappears  until  the  advent  of  another  fire. 

Milk  Weed.  Milk  weed  is  a major  honey  plant  in  a rather  restricted  area 
in  Cheboygan,  Emmett,  Charlevoix,  Antrim,  Grand  Traverse  and  Leelanau 
Counties  and  to  a lesser  extent  in  counties  east  and  south.  The  milk  weed 
territory  is  growing  larger  year  by  year  as  the  seeds  are  carried  very  readily 
by  the  wind.  Milk  weed  honey  is  a very  light  amber  which  passes  on  the 
markets  for  white  honey.  It  is  very  rich  in  flavor,  has  a very  heavy  body  and 
is  considered  one  of  Michigan’s  best  honeys. 

Sweet  Clover.  Sweet  clover  has  become  important  as  a honey  plant  only 
within  recent  years.  With  the  advent  of  the  annual  white  sweet  clover  a 
new  interest  is  being  taken  in  its  cultivation.  Sweet  clover  seed  is  being 
produced  in  a large  number  of  the  counties.  Sweet  clover  is  most  popular 
on  the  lighter  soils  and  is  being  advocated  by  County  Agricultural  Agents  as 
a means  of  building  up  the  sandy  soils  and  other  soils  that  have  been  worn 
by  cropping.  Probably  every  county  in  the  State  is  growing  some  sweet 
clover  and  the  acreage  devoted  to  it  is  bound  to  become  larger  year  by  year. 
The  sub-divisions  lying  at  the  outskirts  of  our  cities  are  frequently  covered 
with  a growth  of  sweet  clover  which  forms  a valuable  source  of  nectar  for  the 
city  beekeeper.  Sweet  clover  honey  ranks  with  the  other  clovers  in  quality. 
It  has  a greenish  tinge  and  a mild  aromatic  flavor. 

Basswood.  Basswood  has  been  one  of  the  major  sources  of  nectar  in  Michi- 
gan. However,  the  basswood  timber  has  been  removed  to  such  an  extent 
that  there  is  very  little,  if  any,  pure  basswood  honey  produced.  The  bass- 


17 


wood  flow  comes  at  the  latter  part  of  the  clover  flow  or  immediately  following 
it  and  practically  all  of  the  basswood  honey  is  therefore  mixed  with  the 
clover.  It  is  a light  honey  with  a strong  aromatic  flavor  and  is  considered  of 
highest  quality. 

Alfalfa.  When  alfalfa  is  planted  on  a light  soil  and  when  the  summer  is 
inclined  to  be  rather  dry  and  hot,  the  bees  frequently  work  the  alfalfa  bloom 
with  considerable  energy.  Beekeepers  have  from  time  to  time  reported  the 
storing  of  considerable  surplus  from  this  plant.  The  seed  bearing  alfalfa 
which  is  being  developed  at  the  Agricultural  College  will  likely  be  our  most 
important  source  of  alfalfa  honey. 

Canada  Thistle.  This  plant  is  scattered  to  a greater  or  lesser  degree 
throughout  the  State.  In  some  sections  it  grows  so  abundantly  as  to  interfere 
with  the  growth  of  other  plants.  It  does  not  always  yield  nectar  in  paying 
quantities.  If  the  weather  conditions  are  suitable  a yard  of  bees  situated  in 
a good  Canada  thistle  territory  may  store  a quantity  of  honey  sufficient  to 
place  it  among  the  major  honey  plants.  The  honey  is  white  in  color  and  of 
very  good  flavor.  This  honey  is  often  mixed  with  the  clover  honey  and  sells 
as  such  without  anyone  realizing  that  half  or  more  may  be  from  Canada 
thistles. 

Asters.  In  the  southern  half  of  the  State  the  asters  grow  principally  in 
the  swamp  lands.  In  the  northern  part  of  the  Lower  Peninsula  and  in  the 
Upper  Peninsula,  asters  are  frequently  found  in  abundance  on  the  higher 
soils.  With  satisfactory  weather  conditions  they  yield  a tremendous  crop' 
in  a very  short  time.  A yield  of  200  pounds  of  surplus  per  colony  in  20  days- 
has  been  reported  from  the  Upper  Peninsula.  The  honey  is  light  in  color 
and  when  well  ripened  is  of  good  body  and  flavor.  However,  when  weather 
conditions  do  not  permit  of  the  proper  ripening  of  the  honey,  then  the  flavor 
is  strong  and  unpleasant  . 

Verbena.  The  verbenas  grow  on  the  rather  low  pasture  lands  and  swamps. 
They  are  of  principal  importance  in  the  southern  one-third  of  the  Lower  Pen- 
insula. The  honey  is  in  quality  equal  to  clover  and  is  commonly  .considered 
as  such  on  the  market  . 

Mints.  Michigan  is  the  largest  producer  of  mint  oils  of  any  of  the  states. 
The  mints  are  grown  chiefly  in  the  southern  parts  of  the  State  in  the  counties 
of  Allegan,  Cass,  Berrien,  Kalamazoo,  Van  Buren  and  St.  Joseph.  On  many 
of  the  large  marshes  it  is  not  possible  to  cut  the  whole  acreage  for  distilling 
until  after  the  blossoms  have  opened,  and  so  the  bees  frequently  secure  a 
considerable  amount  of  surplus  honey.  The  mints  are  grown  chiefly  on  the 
reclaimed  swamp  lands.  Beekeepers  in  the  vicinity  of  the  mint  marshes 
usually  secure  some  mint  honey  which  is  white  in  color  and  has  a very  delicious, 
spicy  flavor. 

Blackberry.  Blackberries  like  the  wild  red  raspberries  grow  principally 
on  the  cut-over  lands  of  the  northern  part  of  the  State.  They  frequently 
grow  in  abundance  on  marshes  and  on  soils  that  are  lighter  than  those  on  which 
the  raspberry  does  best.  The  blackberry  is  not  of  such  importance  as  the  red 
raspberry,  but  there  are  thousands  of  acres  of  this  plant  in  northern  Michigan 
that  would  be  a valuable  source  of  nectar  if  there  were  bees  there  to  gather  it. 
The  honey  is  white  in  color  and  of  very  agreeable  flavor. 


18 


Maples.  The  maples  are  found  growing  on  the  better  soils  throughout  the 
whole  Upper  and  Lower  Peninsulas.  They  are  not  particularly  of  value  for 
surplus  honey,  but  they  frequently  furnish  an  abundance  of  nectar  for  brood 
rearing  in  the  spring  time  when  no  other  source  is  available.  Because  of  their 
value  in  supplying  the  food  for  producing  a large  colony  of  bees  for  the  later 
honey  flow,  the  maples  are  considered  by  all  of  our  beekeepers  to  be  a very 
valuable  asset. 

Cucumbers  and  Related  Plants.  There  is  a great  number  of  salting  stations 
scattered  through  the  Lower  Peninsula.  Around  all  of  the  salting  stations 
there  is  grown  a considerable  acreage  of  cucumbers.  Beekeepers  who  have 
apiaries  within  reach  of  the  cucumber  fields  find  that  they  secure  a consider- 
able amount  of  very  desirable  honey  from  the  cucumber  bloom.  Squashes 
and  melons  are  also  of  value  where  grown  in  a sufficient  quantity.  The  bloom- 
ing period  is  midsummer  and  later.  The  honey  is  light  amber  in  color  and  of 
mild  and  pleasing  favor. 

Goldenrod.  Taking  the  State  as  a whole,  golden  rod  is  considered  to  be  our 
most  valuable  source  of  fall  honey.  In  the  northern  two-thirds  of  the  Lower 
Peninsula,  and  in  the  Upper  Peninsula,  golden  rod  is  looked  upon  as  an  almost 
unfailing  source  of  nectar.  There  are  many  varieties,  some  of  which  do  not 
seem  to  be  of  any  particular  value.  The  distribution  of  the  nectar  secreting 
golden  rods  is  so  general  that  beekeepers  in  practically  all  locations  secure  at 
least  some  surplus  golden  rod  honey.  Even  though  it  furnishes  many  tons  of 
desirable  honey,  yet  its  greatest  value  lies  in  the  stimulating  of  brood  rearing 
during  the  fall  months.  A golden  rod  territory  insures  good  sized  colonies  of 
young  bees  for  the  winter  cluster.  The  honey  is  a pure  gold  in  color.  The 
flavor,  while  more  pronounced  than  in  the  clovers,  is  mild  and  agreeable. 

Spanish  needle.  Spanish  needle  constitutes  a major  source  of  nectar  in 
the  southern  one-third  of  the  Lower  Peninsula  in  those  areas  where  the  swamps 
have  not  been  drained.  As  the  swamp  lands  are  reclaimed,  Spanish  needle 
disappears.  It  is  as  yet  a very  valuable  source  of  nectar  in  nearly  every 
county  in  the  southern  part  of  the  State.  Fortunately  for  the  beekeepers, 
there  is  an  infinite  number  of  small  swamps  which  are  so  situated  that  it  is 
impractical  to  drain  them  because  of  the  expense  involved.  In  such  places 
Spanish  needle  will  doubtless  continue  to  be  a major  honey  plant.  The  honey 
is  amber  in  color  and  of  rather  strong  flavor.  Pure  Spanish  needle  honey  is 
not  often  found  as  golden  rod,  verbena,  heartsease,  boneset  and  buckwheat 
all  bloom  at  about  the  same  time.  The  fall  honey  in  the  southern  part  of 
the  State  is  usually  a combination  of  most  of  the  above  sources.  This  honey 
is  of  a very  agreeable  flavor  to  those  who  have  a taste  for  the  darker,  stronger 
flavored  honeys. 

Buckwheat.  Buckwheat  is  a common  crop  on  the  lighter  soils  in  all  parts 
of  the  State.  The  nectar  is  secreted  in  early  autumn  after  the  white  honey 
flows  are  over.  When  found  pure,  it  is  dark  amber  in  color  and  strong  in 
flavor  but  very  pleasing  to  a part  of  our  population. 

Boneset.  Boneset  grows  in  swamps  and  marsh  lands  in  all  parts  of  the 
State.  It  is  not  considered  by  beekeepers  as  a very  good  source  of  surplus 
honey  but  is  valued  by  them  for  its  influence  in  keeping  up  brood  rearing  at 
a time  when  other  nectars  are  scarce.  It  is  a very  dependable  source  of 
nectar.  The  honey  is  rather  dark  and  of  unpleasant  flavor. 


19 


Fruit  Bloom.  Michigan  is  famous  for  the  Avonderful  fruit  belt  which  lies 
on  the  western  side  of  the  State  within  the  influence  of  Lake  Michigan. 
Within  this  fruit  belt  apple,  peach,  plum,  cherry  and  the  smaller  bush  and 
vine  fruits  are  grown  in  places  almost  to  the  exclusion  of  other  crops.  During 
the  blooming  time  they  furnish  an  exceedingly  valuable  source  of  nectar. 
Surplus  honey  is  not  usually  stored  from  the^  fruit  bloom  as  the  blossoms  come 
early  and  the  colonies  are  not  usually  up  to  storing  strength.  It  furnishes, 
however,  the  food  which  is  so  essential  to  getting  the  colonies  in  proper  con- 
dition for  the  clover  and  later  honey -flows.  To  the  eastward  beyond  the  limits 
of  the  fruit  belt  proper,  there  are  many  farm  and  commercial  orchards.  The 
smaller  orchards  are  not  confined  to  the  Lower  Peninsula  alone  but  are  found 
as  far  north  as  the  shores  of  Lake  Superior.  The  presence  of  a goodly  acreage 
of  orchard  is  a valuable  asset  to  any  beekeeper. 


BEEKEEPERS’  ORGANIZATIONS 

Michigan  Beekeepers’  Association.  This  is  one  of  the  oldest  if  not  the  oldest, 
beekeepers’  organization  in  the  central  states.  It  was  organized  in  1865 
and  has  upon  its  list  of  members  some  of  the  country’s  greatest  exponents  of 
good  beekeeping.  The  names  of  Hutchinson,  Bingham,  Hilton,  Heddon, 
Benton,  Cook,  Townsend  and  many  others,  all  Michigan  men,  are  household 
names  among  the  beekeepers.  The  association  all  through  the  years  of  its 
existence  has  taken  the  lead  in  directing  the  policies  in  education,  marketing, 
inspection  and  kindred  interests  of  the  beekeepers  as  a whole.  There  are  now 
about  700  active  members.  The  annual  meeting  is  held  each  winter  in  the 
city  of  Lansing.  * A summer  meeting  is  held  in  northern  Michigan.  Mr.  R. 
H.  Kelty,  E.  Lansing,  Mich.,  is  secretary. 


STATISTICS  RELATIVE  TO  MICHIGAN  BEEKEEPING 

It  is  estimated  that  there  are  from  ten  to  fifteen  thousand  beekeepers  in  the 
State  operating  from  150,000  to  200,000  colonies  of  bees.  The  product  of 
the  bee  is  about  8,000,000  pounds  of  extracted  honey,  2,000,000  pounds  of 
comb  honey  and  about  150,000  pounds  of  bees  wax.  As  Michigan  honey  is  of 
very  high  grade,  it  brings  the  top  price  on  the  market.  The  value  of  the 
apiary  products,  aside  from  the  colonies  of  bees  and  the  queens  that  are  sold, 
is  nearly  $2,000,000. 


APIARY  INSPECTION 

The  work  of  Apiary  Inspection  has  been  carried  on  for  a number  of  years. 
Complete  data  is  available  as  to  the  distribution  of  the  bee  diseases  in  Michi- 
gan. Two  inspectors  give  their  entire  time  to  the  work  and  about  fifteen  bee- 
keepers in  various  parts  of  the  State  give  varying  amounts  of  their  time  to 
inspection  work  during  the  summer.  Because  of  the  lack  of  funds,  it  has  been 
impossible  until  within  the  last  two  years  to  undertake  a compaign  of  eradica- 
tion of  bee  diseases  from  any  of  the  infected  districts  of  the  State.  A program 
is  now  being  followed  which  it  is  believed  will  in  time  with  more  liberal  finan- 
cial assistance  result  in  the  bee  diseases  being  crowded  out  of  the  State. 

Apiary  inspection  is  a part  of  the  Michigan  Department  of  Agriculture, 
Lansing,  Mich. 


UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLIN0I8 - URBANA 


N301 121 18459442A 


oh  successful  damme. 


AMERICAN  FOUL  BROOD 

BY 

B.  F.  KINDIG, 

Director  Apiary  Inspection 


BULLETIN  No.  2 
October  20th,  1921 


MICHIGAN  DEPARTMENT  OF  AGRICULTURE 
LANSING,  MICHIGAN 


H.  H.  HALLADAY,  .....  Commissioner 
FEED  L.  WOODWORTH,  Director,  Bureau  Foods  and  Markets, 

Deputy  Commissioner 

JOHN  A.  DOELLE,  - - Director,  Bureau  Agricultural  Development 

HORACE  W.  NORTON,  Jr.,  - Director,  Bureau  of  Animal  Industry 
T.  H.  BROUGHTON,  ....  Director,  Bureau  of  Dairying 

The  industrious  bee  creates  about  $1,500,000  for  Michigan  annually. 
Mr.  B.  F.  Kindig,  Inspector  of  Apiaries,  has  condensed  the  informa- 
tion concerning  the  most  serious  disease  of  the  bee  in  a manner  which 
will  aid  the  beekeeper  to  recognize  the  disease  and  eradicate  it. 

JOHN  A.  DOELLE, 

Director,  Bureau  of  Agricultural  Development. 


American  Foul  Brood  is  an  infectious  disease  of  the  larvae  of  the 
honey  bee.  It  is  quite  generally  distributed  throughout  the  southern 
peninsula  of  Michigan  with  the  exception  of  the  northeastern  quarter. 

CAUSE 

The  disease  is  caused  by  a microscopic  organism  similar  in  appear- 
ance and  habits  to  some  of  the  germ's  which  cause  disease  in  the 
human  body.  The  organism  is  known  as  Bacillus  larvae. 

SYMPTOMS 

To  the  beekeeper  who  is  unfamiliar  with  this  disease,  usually 
the  first  symptoms  apparent  are  a gradual  weakening  of  the  colony 
and  the  presence  of  a very  unpleasant  odor  in  the  hive.  In  the 
very  early  stages  of  the  disease  it  is  recognized  by  an  occasional  brood 
cell  capping  being  sunken  ,and  darker  in  appearance  than  the  cappings 
of  the  adjacent  cells.  A part  of  these  cappings  may  also  have  small  holes 
in  them,  often  ragged  in  appearance.  Upon  further  examination  it  may 
be  found  that  in  a few  uncapped  cells  the  larvae  have  died  and  are  de- 
caying on  the  lower  cell  walls.  Upon  careful  examination,  the  dead 
larval  remains  in  all  of  the  cells  just  mentioned  will  be  found  to  be 
similar  in  shape  and  position,  although  they  may  vary  somewhat  in 
color.  Soon  after  the  ,death  of  the  larva  it  begins  to  take  on  a brownish 
appearance  and  the  longer  the  larva  has  been  dead  and  the  more  it  be- 
comes dried  down  the  darker  is  the  color.  When  the  remains  have  dried 
down  to  a thin  scale  on  the  lower  cell  wall  the  color  becomes  almost  black. 
When  larvae  die  from  this  disease  the  decayed  remains  tend  to  become 
quite  gluey  in  their  consistency.  If  a match  or  tooth-pick  be  inserted  into 
the  cell  and  a part  of  the  remains  drawn  out  it  will  be  found  to  stretch 
out  somewhat  like  glue.  This  quality  is  commonly  spoken  of  as  ropiness 
and  is  often  considered  the  diagnostic  symptom  of  this  disease.  However, 
in  making  a diagnosis  these  four  factors  should  be  present : 

(1 ) The  larvae  should  lie  on  the  lower  cell  wall. 

(2)  The  color  should  be  brown  or  black. 

(3)  The  consistency  of  the  larvae  should  b,e  ropy  unless  dried  down 
into  a black  hard  scale. 

(4)  The  odor  should  be  repulsive,  inasmuch  as  it  is  commonly  de- 
scribed as  smelling  like  a glue  pot. 

Even  in  a very  jnild  case  of  disease  the  first  three  symptoms  should  be 
apparent  while  the  fourth  (the  odor)  may  not  be  so  noticeable  if  only  a 
few  cells  are  affected.  Whenever  there  is  the  slightest  doubt  as  to  the 
diagnosis  of  disease  a sample  of  the  comb  containing  the  diseased  larvae 
should  be  sent  to  this  office,  where  a microscopic  examination  will  be 
made.  Upon  application,  the  department  will  gladly  furnish  a mailing 
case  for  sending  in  samples  of  comb  for  disease  identification* 


6 


TREATMENT 

The  only  successful  treatment  for  American  Foul  Brood  con- 
sists in  removing  the  bees  from  the  combs  and  hives  and  placing  them 
in  a clean  hive  without  combs  but  in  which  the  frames  are  fitted  with 
full  sheets  of  foundation.  There  are  slight  variations  in  the  method  of 
treatment  according  to  the  season  of  the  year.  These  slight  differences 
will  be  fully  discussed  under  the  method  of  treatment  for  the  particular 
season.  If  it  is  at  all  possible  to  avoid  it,  a diseased  colony  should 
never  be  treated  in  the  same  yard  with  colonies  that  are  not  diseased. 
Wherever  possible,  the  diseased  colonies  should  be  removed  a mile  or 
more  from  the  yard,  given  the  proper  treatment  and  then  returned  to  the 
yard.  Whenever  treating  for  disease  one  should  give  due  consideration 
to  the  location  of  other  beekeepers  in  order  that  disease  may  not  be 
spread  by  robbing  during  the  process  of  treatment. 

SPRINGTIME  TREATMENT 

When  it  is  desired  to  treat  the  bees  as  early  in  the  spring  as  possible 
and  when  more  than  one  colony  is  diseased,  it  is  possible  to  save  the 
brood  of  each  colony  excepting  the  last  one  treated  by  the  following  plan : 

Pick  out  from  among  the  diseased  colonies  the  ones  which  are  deemed 
strong  enough  to  stand  the  shock  of  treatment  during  the  month  of 
May.  Each  of  these  colonies  should  be  transferred  into  clean  hives  with 
full  sheets  of  foundation  and  the  brood  which  they  had  should  be 
placed  on  one  or  more  of  the  weaker  diseased  colonies.  In  the  process 
of  transferring,  the  diseased  colony  is  placed  two  feet  or  so  to  the  back 
or  side  of  where  it  formerly  stood.  The  hive  into  which  it  is  desired 
to  transfer  the  bees  is  placed  on  the  old  stand.  After  placing  a news- 
paper in  front  of  the  hives  to  catch  any  honey  that  may  drip,  then 
taking  one  frame  at  a time  the  bees  should  be  brushed  upon  the  paper 
in  front  of  the  new  hive.  Care  should  be  used  to  see  that  the  queen 
enters  the  new  hive.  After  she  is  in,  a queen-guard  or  queen  and  drone 
trap  should  be  placed  on  the  entrance  to  prevent  the  swarm  from  ab- 
sconding. After  all  the  bees  have  been  removed,  the  combs  may  be  placed 
on  another  diseased  colony  as  said  before.  If  only  one  colony  is  affected, 
then  the  combs  should  be  buried  deeply  or  burned.  In  all  of  the 
manipulations  concerned  with  the  handling  of  disease  every  precaution 
must  be  used  in  order  that  no  robbing  may  take  place.  If  any  robbing 
occurs  it  is  quite  certain  that  each  colony  concerned  in  the  robbing  will 
later  become  diseased.  For  this  reason  it  is  customary  to  treat  dis- 
eased bees  late  in  the  evening  after  the  bees  have  quit  flying.  If  it  is 
necessary  to  treat  them  in  a yard  where  there  are  healthy  colonies,  then 
the  entrances  to  all  of  the  adjacent  healthy  colonies  should  be  closed 
with  a screen  so  that  in  the  excitement  and  confusion  incident  to  trans- 
ferring if  any  of  the  bees  from  the  diseased  hive  attempt  to  enter  they 
will  be  unable  to  do  so.  If  it  is  impractical  to  move  the  bees  from  the 
yard  for  treatment,  then  the  hives  should  be  moved  a foot  or  more  each 
day  until  the  diseased  hives  are  as  far  as  they  can  be  placed  in  the  yard 
from  other  colonies.  Many  beekeepers  who  have  treated  disease  from 
year  to  year  find  it  advisable  to  use  a screened  cage  about  six  feet 


7 


square  and  six  feet  high.  They  perform  all  of  the  work  of  transferring 
within  this  cage.  In  this  way  it  is  impossible  for  robbers  to  enter  or 
for  any  of  the  bees  of  the  colony  to  enter  another  hive.  Whenever  bees 
are  disturbed  as  in  transferring  they  fill  their  honey  sacs  with  honey. 
In  case  it  is  a diseased  colony  the  honey  which  they  carry  may  transmit 
disease  to  any  colony  which  such  bees  may  enter.  It  is,  therefore,  very 
essential  that  all  of  the  bees  of  a diseased  colony  be  kept  together. 
Colonies  which  are  strong  enough  to  admit  of  treatment  in  the  month 
of  May  should  build  up  and  store  a satisfactory  amount  of  honey  dur- 
ing the  following  honey  flow. 

SUMMER  TREATMENT 

Weak  colonies  on  which  the  brood  was  stacked  from  the  colonies 
treated  in  May,  or  other  colonies  which  were  too  -weak  for  treatment 
at  that  time  should  be  treated  during  the  first  few  days  of  the  main 
summer  honey  flow  which  in  this  State  is  either  the  raspberry  or  clover 
flow.  The  same  method  of  treatment  should  be  followed  as  described 
previously,  excepting  that  in  case  some  colonies  are  not  strong  enough 
at  that  time  to  produce  surplus  honey,  then,  two  or  more  colonies 
should  be  united  at  the  time  of  treatment.  It  is  not  advisable  to  handle 
colonies  in  such  a way  that  the  surplus  honey  crop  is  entirely  sacrificed. 
If  an  increase  in  the  number  of  colonies  is  desired,  it  can  be  made  in 
the  latter  part  of  the  clover  flow  with  but  very  slight  sacrifice  in  the 
honey  crop.  The  brood  from  five  or  six  treated  colonies  can  be  piled 
upon  one  diseased  colony  and  after  three  weeks  when  all  of  the  brood 
is  hatched,  then  the  remaining  colony  should  be  treated.  Whether  or 
not  all  of  the  colonies  are  to  be  treated  at  the  beginning  of  the  main 
honey  flow  is  optional  with  the  beekeeper.  If  they  are  all  treated  at 
that  time  all  frames  containing  brood  must  be  burned  or  buried  at 
once.  If  some  of  the  diseased  colonies  are  still  weak  it  is  probably  best 
to  pile  the  brood  from  those  that  are  strong  enough  on  them  and  ar- 
range to  treat  three  weeks  later.  However,  when  treatment  is  delayed 
until  three  weeks  after  the  beginning  of  the  honey  flow  in  some  instances 
not  sufficient  time  is  left  for  them  to  store  honey  enough  for  their  needs. 
In  this  case  they  will  have  to  be  fed  later. 

FALL  TREATMENT 

It  occasionally  happens  that  a colony  which  becomes  infected  in  the 
spring  may  not  be  discovered  until  after  the  clover  honey  crop  has  been 
gathered.  In  general,  it  is  not  advisable  to  treat  .bees  when  there  is  no 
honey  flow.  The  danger  of  robbing  under  such  conditions  is  very  much 
greater  and  feeding  must  be  resorted  to  in  order  to  keep  the  colony  alive. 
Late  cases  of  infection  may  be  treated  during  the  month  of  October 
after  brood  rearing  has  practically  ceased.  The  method  of  treatment 
is  the  same  as  described  before,  excepting  that  the  bees  are  transferred 
into  a hive  without  frames.  They  should  be  left  in  this  hive  for  at  least 
48  hours.  At  that  time  the  beekeeper  should  carefully  remove  the  hive 
body  from  the  bottom  board.  A hive  body  full  of  combs  of  honey  taken 
from  a healthy  colony  should  be  set  in  its  place.  Then  the  empty  hive 


8 


body  with  the  bees  should  be  set  on  top  and  jarred  slightly.  The  bees 
will  then  take  possession  of  the  combs  and  honey  and  the  empty  hive 
body  may  be  removed. 

FEEDING  IN  CONNECTION  WITH  TREATMENT 

When  it  is  desirable  to  treat  very  early  in  the  season  it  is  occasionally 
necessary  to  resort  to  feeding  in  order  to  get  the  foundation  drawn 
out  and  to  get  brood  rearing  under  way  as  quickly  as  possible.  Realiz- 
ing that  the  bees  carry  with  them  a supply  of  honey  which  is  sufficient 
for  their  food  for  several  days,  it  is  not  necessary  to  do  any  feeding  un- 
til from  two  to  three  days  after  treatment.  It  is  very  fortunate  that 
in  the  digesting  of  the  disease  carrying  honey  which  the  bees  have  in 
their  honey  sacs  at  the  time  of  treatment,  all  danger  of  disease  is  elimi- 
nated. When  bees  are  placed  on  foundation  they  very  rapidly  use  up 
the  honey  which  they  have  with  them  in  the  secretion  of  wax  for  comb 
building.  For  this  reason  it  is  not  advisable  in  treating  disease  to 
give  the  colony  a set  of  drawn  combs.  When  this  is  done  they  deposit, 
the  honey  which  they  carry  with  them  in  the  cells  and  part  of  it  is  fed 
to  the  young  larvae  which  they  proceed  to  rear.  Thus  the  disease  which 
was  present  in  the  old  hive  is  continued  in  the  new  one.  When  it  is 
necessary  to  feed,  the  use  of  a Boardman  entrance  feeder  or  an  Alex- 
ander bottom  board  feeder  is  very  convenient.  If  these  are  not  at 
hand  a very  efficient  feeder  can  be  made  by  punching  a number  of  fine 
holes  in  the  lid  of  a friction  top  pail.  This  should  be  filled  with  syrup* 
and  inverted  directly  over  the  frames.  The  bees  will  then  suck  out  the 
syrup. 

DISPOSAL  OF  WAX  AND  HONEY 

Where  only  a small  number  of  colonies  are  treated  the  best  means  of 
disposal  of  the  frames  and  honey  is  to  burn  or  bury  them.  In  cases 
where  a large  yard  is  quite  generally  diseased  it  then  becomes  advisable 
to  save  as  much  of  the  equipment  as  possible.  After  the  brood  has 
been  allowed  to  emerge  as  previously  mentioned,  then  the  hive  bodies 
of  combs  should  be  removed  to  a bee-tight  building.  There  the  honey 
should  be  extracted  at  once.  The  honey  may  be  used  for  making  honey 
vinegar.  A bulletin  on  the  subject  of  making  honey  vinegar  can  be 
secured  from  the  Department  of  Bacteriology,  Michigan  Agricultural 
College,  East  Lansing,  Michigan.  It  is  not  desirable  to  sell  this  honey 
as  it  may  be  exposed  by  the  purchasers  in  such  a way  that  bees  may 
secure  some  of  it  and  thus  carry  the  disease  to  their  own  hives. 

After  extracting,  unless  a very  cold  cellar  is  available  for  storing  the 
combs,  it  is  necessary  to  cut  the  combs  out  and  melt  them  at  once  be- 
cause of  the  danger  of  wax  moths  at  that  season.  No  one  should  ever 
attempt  to  ship  diseased  combs  to  a foundation  factory  for  rendering, 
excepting  during  the  months  of  December,  January  and  February. 
When  combs  are  packed  in  a barrel  and  shipped,  very  often  honey  leaks 
out  upon  the  floors  of  the  cars  or  in  the  freight  houses  and  becomes 
accessible  to  the  bees  of  the  vicinity.  This  practice  is  forbidden  by  law 
in  most  States  including  Michigan. 


9 


After  disposing  of  the  combs  and  honey  the  frames  should  be  boiled 
for  not  less  than  five  minutes  in  a solution  made  from  one  can  of  con* 
centrated  lye  to  six  gallons  of  water.  Before  placing  the  frames  in  this 
solution  the  wax  and  propolis  should  be  carefully  removed.  After  boil- 
ing, the  frames  should  be  thoroughly  rinsed  in  a tub  of  clear,  warm 
water.  The  hive  bodies,  super  covers  and  bottom  boards,  should  be 
thoroughly  scraped  to  remove  all  particles  of  wax,  honey  and  propolis. 
/Then  they  should  be  gone  over  with  a flame  of  a blow  torch  and  the 
surface  scorched  until  no  germs  can  remain  alive.  Ordinarily  supers 
and  hive  bodies  are  more  easily  sterilized  by  piling  them  up-side-down 
as  high  as  one  can  conveniently  reach  and  burning  a small  handful  of 
straw  or  paper  on  the  inside.  Care  must  be  exercised  else  the  whole 
pile  of  supers  will  be  burned  up.  A hive  cover  should  be  convenient  for 
putting  over  the  top  to  stop  the  blaze. 

It  must  be  realized  that  there  is  grave  danger  in  the  handling  of  dis- 
eased material  unless  every  precaution  is  taken  to  prevent  robbing. 
The  extractor  should  be  thoroughly  scalded  out  after  extracting  dis- 
eased honey.  If  possible  the  extractor  should  be  taken  to  where  it  may 
be  turned  up-side-down  and  a steam  hose  turned  into  it  with  consider- 
able pressure  for  at  least  15  minutes.  If  the  wax  is  rendered,  the  slum- 
gum  and  the  water  used  in  wax  rendering  should  be  buried  after  the 
bees  have  quit  flying  in  the  evening.  All  vessels  or  tools  which  come  in 
contact  with  the  disease  must  be  thoroughly  disinfected.  If  the  above 
directions  are  followed  carefully  much  valuable  material  may  be  saved. 
If  not,  Foul  Brood  will  be  scattered  far  and  wide  over  the  adjacent 
territory. 

METHODS  OF  SPREAD 

American  Foul  Brood  is  commonly  spread  through  carelessness  on 
the  part  of  someone.  If  carelessness  on  the  part  of  beekeepers  could  be 
eliminated  the  problem  of  controlling  Foul  Brood  would  be  very  much 
simplified.  Weak  diseased  colonies  may  be  robbed  out  because  the  en- 
trances have  not  been  contracted  to  a point  where  they  can  defend  them- 
selves. Dead  diseased  colonies  are  robbed  out  because  the  beekeeper 
carelessly  leaves  such  colonies  exposed  in  the  bee-yard.  It  is  a bee- 
keeper’s business  to  know  whether  any  colonies  are  dead  or  weak,  and 
it  is  his  business  to  take  care  of  them  so  that  they  may  not  be  a menace 
to  the  neighboring  beekeepers.  The  careless  exposure  of  disease  carry- 
ing honey  and  the  like  is  criminal  and  the  offender  should  be  punished 
by  nothing  less  than  confinement  in  the  county  jail.  Often  honey  houses 
and  other  places  where  diseased  honey  and  combs  are  stored  have  cracks 
in  the  doors  or  windows  or  the  siding  does  not  fit  properly  and  what- 
ever is  contained  therein  is  exposed  to  all  of  the  bees  in  the  territory. 
Often  hives  in  which  the  colonies  have  died  from  disease  are  sold  either 
through  ignorance  of  the  seller,  or  as  has  been  amply  demonstrated, 
because  his  sense  of  right  and  justice  has  never  been  properly  developed. 
A careful  survey  of  conditions  in  Wisconsin  showed  that  a large  part  of 
the  spread  of  foul  brood  was  directly  traceable  to  the  selling  or  moving 
of  diseased  hives  or  equipment.  The  feeding  of  honey,  a part  of  which 
was  extracted  from  a diseased  colony,  causes  an  outbreak  of  disease 
wherever  such  honey  is  fed.  Therefore,  this  department  never  advises 


10 


the  feeding  of  honey.  It  is  not  always  possible  to  know  whether  or  not 
some  of  it  may  have  come  from  a diseased  hive  even  though  no  disease 
is  known  to  be  in  the  bee-yard.  Some  of  the  honey  in  the  yard  may  have 
been  stored  from  honey  robbed  from  a diseased  colony  in  the  neighbor- 
hood. 

BEE  YARD  SANITATION 

The  bee-yard  practice  must  be  such  as  to  prevent  robbing. 

Frames  of  honey  should  not  be  taken  from  one  colony  and  given  as 
food  to  another  colony. 

A diseased  colony  should  never  be  opened  when  there  is  the  slightest 
danger  of  robbing. 

Diseased  colonies  should  be  removed  from  the  yard  as  soon  as  dis- 
covered and  treated  before  returning  them. 

Carelessness,  ignorance  and  malice  are  at  the  bottom  of  most  of  the 
spread  of  disease. 

Do  not  use  equipment  from  an  unknown  source  without  seeing  to 
it  that  it  can  not  carry  disease. 

When  a colony  shows  disease  every  frame  connected  with  that  colony 
must  be  destroyed.  (Some  have  erroneously  judged  that  those  frames 
which  do  not  have  dead  larvae  in  them  are  suitable  for  further  use. 

In  purchasing  bees  buy  them  in  combless  packages,  not  on  drawn 
combs,  unless  there  has  been  no  disease  among  the  bees  for  at  least  one 
year.  The  selling  of  diseased  bees  has  contributed  largely  to  the  spread 
of  disease  in  Michigan. 

Every  super  and  every  frame  should  be  numbered  to  correspond  with 
the  hive  on  which  it  belongs  and  should  be  used  there  and  nowhere  else. 
If  this  suggestion  is  followed,  extracted  honey  producers  will  find  that 
foul  brood  is  just  as  easy  to  control  in  their  yards  as  in  the  yards  of 
comb  honey  producers. 

Apiary  inspection  which  was  formerly  administered  from  the  Agri- 
cultural College  is  now  a part  of  the  State  Department  of  Agriculture. 
All  of  the  employes  are  giving  their  time  to  the  work  throughout  the 
year.  With  this  new  arrangement  more  effective  wrnrk  will  be  possible 
and  a greater  service  will  be  given  to  the  beekeepers  of  the  State.  The 
Bureau  of  Apiary  Inspection  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture,  Lansing, 
Michigan,  will  be  very  glad  to  correspond  with  you  and  help  you  in  every 
way  possible  in  the  control  of  bee  diseases. 


LAWS  RELATIVE  TO  FOUL  BROOD 

Section  4.  If  the  owner,  possessor,  agent  or  lessee  of  an  apiary,  honey 
or  appliances,  wherein  disease  is  known  to  the  owner,  possessor,  agent 
or  lessee  to  exist,  shall  sell,  barter  or  give  away  or  remove  from  the 
premises,  without  the  consent  of  the  inspector,  any  bees  from  diseased 
colonies,  be  they  queens,  drones,  or  workers,  honey  or  appliances,  or 
expose  other  bees  to  the  danger  of  such  disease,  said  owner  shall,  on  con- 
viction thereof  be  punished  by  a fine  of  not  less  than  ten  dollars  or  more 


11 


than  fifty  dollars  and  costs  of  prosecution : Provided,  That  bees  may 

be  shipped  without  honey  or  feed  containing  honey,  also  provided  that 
honey  may  be  sold  in  tight  containers  for  commercial  purposes,  other 
than  with  bees  or  as  food  for  bees. 

Section  9.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  any  one  keeping  bees  in  the  State 
of  Michigan,  to  deeply  bury  combs  and  frames  taken  from  diseased 
colonies,  in  places  where  they  shall  remain  undisturbed,  unless  they  be 
placed  in  tight  receptacles  so  constructed  that  it  shall  be  impossible 
for  bees  to  gain  access  to  combs,  or  for  honey  or  any  other  liquid  to 
leak  out  where  bees  can  gain  access  to  it.  Anyone  knowingly  exposing 
comb,  honey,  frames,  quilts,  empty  hives,  covers  or  bottomboards,  or 
tools  or  other  appliances  contaminated  by  infected  material  from  the 
same,  from  diseased  colonies,  shall  on  conviction  thereof,  be  punished 
by  a fine  of  not  less  than  twenty-five  dollars,  nor  more  than  fifty  dol- 
lars : Provided,  That  the  wax  may  be  rendered  in  such  places  or  at 

such  time  that  no  bees  will  be  able  to  gain  access  to  the  comb  before  it 
is  thoroughly  heated,  or  at  any  time  to  the  liquids  expressed  in  the  pro- 
cess of  rendering. 


UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS  — URBANA 


N301 121 18459442A 


S and 


WVfSSlT) 

JUL  31 


'•'vv 


^ f A . ^ 

<9  i /?£ers 

on  succcsswl  damme. 


REQUEENING  THE  APIARY 

BY 

P.  T.  ULMAN 
Apiary  Inspection 


BULLETIN  No.  3 
January  30th,  1922 


Requeening  the  Apiary. 


Michigan  has  many  localities  where  European  foul  brood  is  securing  a 
stronghold  and  is  discouraging  the  beekeepers  of  those  sections. 

The  Apiary  Division  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture  considers  European 
foul  brood  the  problem  of  the  individual  beekeeper  and  not  one  for  the  in- 
spector, except  as  he  may  be  able  to  give  information  for  its  control,  yet  the 
„ control  of  this  disease  is  so  closely  associated  with  pure  Italian  bees  and  young 
queens  that  it  was  deemed  advisable  to  write  this  circular. 

The  purpose  of  this  article  is  to  enable  the  beekeeper  to  rear  his  own  queens, 
and  is  not  intended  to  supply  the  information  necessary  to  rear  queens  on  a 
large  commercial  scale. 

Many  beekeepers  are  being  disappointed  in  queens  purchased  from  com- 
mercial breeders  This  dissatisfaction  is  not  because  the  queen  breeders 
are  shipping  inferior  queens,  but  because  queens  shipped  through  the  mail 
in  the  regular  cages,  or  even  in  pound  packages  seem  to  have  lost  much  of 
their  .vitality  and,  consequently,  have  a greatly  reduced  period  of  egg  laying. 
Just  why  the  shipping  of  queens  seem  to  reduce  the  vitality  and  to  shorten 
their  life  in  many  cases  is  not  known.  The  beekeepers  have  experienced 
this  for  many  years  and  in  many  instances  the  queen  breeder  has  been  unjustly 
accused  of  shipping  inferior  queens. 

The  preceding  statement  is  not  intended  to  convey  the  impression  that 
queens  should  never  be  purchased.  It  is  essential  that  the  beekeeper  has 
a good  strain  of  Italian  bees  before  attempting  to  rear  his  own  queens.  The 
comparative  freedom  from  stings,  saying  nothing  about  the  other  good 
qualities,  will  more  than  repay  for  Italianizing  the  apiary.  It  is  also  advisable 
to  introduce  new  blood  into  the  yard  from  time  to  time  so  that  the  stock 
will  be  kept  pure  and  there  is  always  the  possibility  that  superior  honey 
gatherers  may  be  introduced. 

A black  or  hybrid  queen  is  expensive  to  maintain  in  the  bee  yard.  A 
colony  headed  by  a black  or  hybrid  queen  usually  has  a very  poor  disposition 
and  such  a colony  suffers  from  lack  of  proper  manipulation.  Black  bees 
should  never  be  allowed  in  a bee  yard  located  within  a town  or  city  limits. 
Opposition  to  the  keeping  of  bees  in  town  would  be  much  less  frequent  if 
all  such  colonies  were  Italian  bees. 


Selecting  the  Breeder. 

Instead  of  a haphazard  selection  of  the  colony  to  be  used  for  breeding 
purposes,  there  are  several  points  that  should  be  taken  into  consideration. 
Every  beekeeper  knows  that  some  colonies  have  many  good  qualities  that  are 
lacking  in  others.  It  is  the  good  qualities  that  the  beekeeper  should  have 
predominant  in  his  apiary. 

There  are  six  principal  points  that  should  be  considered  in  selecting  the 
breeder. 

1.  None-swarming.  There  is  a great  difference  in  colonies  in  their  ten- 
dency to  swarm.  Choose  one  in  which  the  swarming  instinct  is  not  predom- 


4 


inant.  Non-swarming  should  be  given  only  secondary  consideration  but 
should  not  be  forgotten  altogether. 

2.  Gentleness.  In  many  respects  this  is  of  minor  importance.  Do  not 
breed  for  gentleness  at  the  expense  of  the  more  important  qualities.  It  is 
a desirable  trait  in  a colony  and  makes  work  with  the  bees  much  more  pleasant. 
Many  beekeepers  would  take  better  care  of  their  colonies  if  it  were  not  for 
the  stings  of  their  cross  bees. 

3.  Color.  Do  not  breed  for  color  alone.  Color  is,  however,  the  only  means 
of  determining  the  purity  of  the  strain.  There  are  three  kinds  of  Italian 
bees:  namely,  three  banded,  goldens,  and  leather  colored. 

The  three  banded  Italians  are  considered  by  the  majority  of  beekeepers 
as  the  best.  This  type  of  bee  should  have  three  prominent  yellow  bands 
commencing  with  the  segment  of  the  abdomen  where  it  is  attached  to  the 
thorax.  The  yellow  bands  produced  by  the  fine  hair  of  very  young  bees 
should  not  be  taken  into  consideration. 

Golden  Italians  have  four  or  five  yellow  bands  on  the  abdomen.  It  is 
very  seldom  that  an  all  yellow  bee  is  found.  When  the  bee  emerges  it  appears 
as  an  all  yellow  bee,  but  soon  after  starting  its  short  and  strenuous  life,  the 
fine  hairs  wear  away  and  the  black  markings  can  be  plainly  seen. 

The  leather  colored  Italians  have  but  two  prominent  yellow  bands  and 
therefore  appear  a little  darker  than  the  three  banded.  The  third  band  will 
show,  if  the  bees  are  full  of  honey,  when  placed  on  a window  so  that  the ’light 
can  shine  through  the  abdomen.  The  leather  colored  Italian  is  typical  of 
the  native  bees  in  Italy. 

4.  Drone  Selection.  Do  not  allow  a miscellaneous  assortment  of  drones 
in  the  yard.  Eliminate  the  undesirable  drones  as  far  as  possible  and  give 
the  good  colonies  plenty  of  drone  comb.  The  drone  rearing  colonies  should 

' be  selected  for  the  same  qualities  that  the  beekeeper  has  in  mind  when  selecting 
his  breeding  queen. 

5.  Resistance  to  European  Foul  Brood.  This  is  of  first  importance  to  bee- 
keepers located  in  European  Foul  Brood  territory  and  should  not  be  over- 
looked by  beekeepers  who  have  never  had  the  disease  in  their  yard’s.  It 
may  be  introduced  into  disease-free  territory.  Italian  bees  are  the  only  bees 
that  are  practical  for  cleaning  up  European  Foul  Brood. 

6.  Honey  Gathering  Qualities.  To  commercial  beekeepers  this  quality 
is  absolutely  essential.  Without  surplus  gathering  bees,  they  cannot  stay 
in  the  business.  The  breeding  colony  should  be  one  of  the  best  surplus  pro- 
ducing colonies  in  the  apiary. 

Method  of  Rearing  Queens. 

Under  methods  of  rearing  queens  only  two  of  the  most  extensively  used 
will  be  discussed.  A discussion  of  the  many  processes  being  used  with  suc- 
cess has  a tendency  to  confuse  the  beginner.  The  beekeeper  having  succeeded 
with  one  of  the  following  methods  may  later  modify  it  to  suit  his  individual 
conditions. 

Cell  Building  Colonies. 

In  producing  queens  it  is  important  to  give  attention  to  the  colony  that 
will  draw  the  cells.  There  is  a great  difference  in  the  manner  in  which 
colonies  will  draw  out  queen  cells  and  feed  the  larvae.  Some  hives  are  very 
saving  with  the  royal  jelly  placed  in  the  queen  cells,  often  not  giving  enough 


5 


food  for  the  proper  development  of  the  queens.  Others  supply  the  larvae  in 
great  abundance  with  this  rich,  precious  food,  a surplus  often  being  found 
in  the  base  of  the  cells  after  the  queens  have  emerged. 


Fig.  1.  Dr.  C.  C.  Miller  method  of  fastening  foundation  in  frame. 


Queen  larvae,  with  an  abundance  of  food,  develop  into  the  best  queens. 
For  a cell  building  colony,  select  one  that  is  not  miserly  with  its  royal  jelly. 
This  can  be  determined  by  observing  the  natural  built  queen  cells.  The 
beekeeper  will  have  to  resort  to  artificial  means  if  there  are  no  natural  built 
cells.  This  is  done  by  placing  artificial  cells  in  several  colonies  and  testing 
them  out. 

It  is  not  advisable  to  use  natural  cells  built  by  queenless  colonies.  Queen- 
less colonies,  in  their  great  haste  to  overcome  this  handicap,  start  feeding  royal 
jelly  to  some  larvae  too  old  to  develop  into  good  queens.  The  old  larvae, 
when  fed  royal  jelly,  develop  into  queens  of  inferior  quality  and  never 
produce  the  colonies  that  queens  developed  from  very  young  larvae  produce. 

Many  beekeepers  plan  on  requeening  by  killing  the  old  queen  and  allowing 
the  bees  to  rear  a queen  from  the  brood  in  the  hive.  This  is  not  considered  a 
good  practice  by  many  and  the  writer  has  never  found  it  satisfactory  in  his 
own  yard.  In  this  method  the  old  queen  is  generally  killed  near  the  beginning 
of  the  honey  flow. 

Dr.  C.  C.  Miller’s  Method. 

Fasten  triangular  or  rectangular  strips  (fig.  I)  of  foundation  to  the  top  bar 
of  an  ordinary  Hoffman  frame.  Place  this  prepared  frame  in  the  center  of 
the  brood  nest  of  the  colony  selected  as  a breeder.  As  soon  as  the  foundation 
has  been  drawn  out  and  eggs  deposited  in  the  cells,  usually  in  three  to  five  days, 
remove  the  frame  and  with  a sharp  knife  cut  the  edge  of  the  comb  back  to  the 
cells  with  eggs  in  them.  Place  this  frame  in  a cell  building  colony  which  has 
been  previously  made  queenless.  (The  queen  may  be  saved  by  placing  her 
in  a cage  in  another  hive  or  she  may  be  introduced  to  a nucleus).  The 
Miller  frame  may  be  placed  above  the  excluder  of  a queen-right  colony  as 


6 


described  under  the  Doolittle  method,  (Page  8).  If  the  frame  is  introduced 
to  the  cell  building  colony  within  a day  or  two  after  being  made  queenless, 
the  original  brood  combs  must  be  examined  on  the  sixth  day  after  being  made 
queenless.  All  queen  cells  started  by  the  bees  should  be  removed.  If  the 
colony  is  made  queenless  ten  days  prior  to  the  time  the  Miller  frame  is  to  be 
put  in,  an  examination  of  the  colony  should  be  made  on  the  sixth  and  tenth 
days  after  being  made  queenless  and  all  queen  cells  cut  out.  If  this  is  done 
carefully  there  is  no  further  danger  from  a queen  emerging  prematurely, 
there  being  only  eggs  or  very  young  larvae  in  the  cells  of  the  Miller  frame. 

On  the  tenth  day  after  placing  the  Miller  frame  in  the  cell  building  colony, 
the  queen  cells  will  all  be  capped.  Remove  the  cells  by  carefully  cutting 
the  comb  far  enough  back  of  the  bases  of  the  cells  to  prevent  injury,  and  in- 
troduce them  into  the  colonies  to  be  requeened  or  into  mating  nuclei. 

Doolittle  Method. 

The  Doolittle  method  of  queen  rearing  or  modifications  of  it  is  the  most 
popular  system  in  use,  especially  by  commercial  queen  breeders. 


Fig.  2.  Queen  rearing  equipment.  A.  royal  jelly  spoon;  B,  grafting  spoon  or  transferring  needle;  C, 
Miller  queen  cage;  EE,  nursery  cages  and  nursery  cage  frame;  F,  wax  cell  cups;  G,  wooden  cell  cups. 

Equipment.  In  this  system  there  is  a small  amount  of  equipment  with 
which  the  beekeeper  must  supply  himself.  It  may  be  made  .by  the  beekeeper 
himself.  However,  most  people  find  that  it  pays  to  purchase  at  least  some  of 
the  articles  from  a bee  supply  house.  The  equipment  needed  is  listed  below, 
see  cut,  (Fig.  2). 


7 


Wooden  cell  cups. 

Wax  cell  cups. 

Cell  cup  stick.  (Fig.  3). 

Grafting  spoon — for  transferring  larvae  from  comb  to  cell  cups. 

Royal  jelly  spoon — for  lifting  royal  jelly  from  discarded  queen  cells  and 
depositing  in  container. 

Cell  bar  frame.  (Fig.  3). 

Royal  jelly — obtained  from  queen  cells  that  are  cut  out  and  destroyed 
and  the  royal  kelly  kept  in  a small  stone  jar  with  screw  top  lid;  viz: 
cold  cream  jar.  During  the  season  there  are  queen  cells  started  in 
many  colonies  that  are  removed  in  the  usual  swarm  control  methods. 
There  are  occasionally  artificial  cells  that  become  damaged  and  it  is 
from  these  cells  that  the  beekeeper  should  depend  on  his  supply  of  royal 
jelly.  Royal  jelly  can  be  kept  in  a tight  container  for  months.  The 
royal  jelly  may  be  thinned  with  a small  amount  of  saliva  or  warm  water 
if  it  becomes  too  thick. 


Starting  the  Cells. 

Insert  the  wax  cell  cups  in  the  wooden  cups  by  means  of  the  wet  cell  cup 
stick.  The  end  of  this  stick  should  be. just  the  size  and  shape  of  the  inside 


CLr 


4 


m 


Fig.  3.  A,  cell  bar  frame;  B,  cell  forming  stick,  showing  method  of  fastening  wax  cup  to  wooden  cup* 

of  the  wax  cup  so  that  the  base  of  the  wax  cup  can  be  pressed  firmly  against 
the  base  of  the  wooden  cup. 

Before  the  cell  cups  are  placed  on  the  cell  bar,  the  frame  should  be  placed 
in  the  brood  nest  and  the  bees  allowed  to  draw  out  the  foundation  in  the  upper 
half.  After  that  is  done  the  frame  is  taken  out  and  the  cell  cups  fastened 
on  the  center  bar  (Fig.  3)  by  the  pins  in  the  base  of  the  wooden  cups.  If 


8 


there  are  no  pins  in  the  wooden  cups  they  can  be  fastened  on  very  securely 
by  placing  a thin  layer  of  wax  on  the  bases  of  the  cups  and  pressing  them  firmly 
on  the  bar.  From  ten  to  fifteen  cups  are  generally  used  on  one  bar. 

A small  amount  of  royal  jelly  (amount  used  equal  to  about  one-half  the 
size  of  a small  pea)  is  placed  in  the  base  of  the  wax  cup.  If  the  royal  jelly 
is  scarce  a much  smaller  amount  will  serve  the  purpose.  A frame  with  larvae 
not  over  three  days  old,  preferably  about  thirty-six  hours  old,  is  then  removed 
from  the  colony  selected  for  a breeder.  For  the  beekeeper  with  normal  eye- 
sight, larvae  that  can  be  just  readily  seen  with  the  naked  eye  are  of  the  right 
age.  Transferring  the  larvae  is  done  with  the  grafting  spoon.  The  spoon  is 
carefully  slipped  under  the  minute  larvae,  being  careful  not  to  bruise  them, 
and  then  lifted  out  and  slipped  off  of  the  spoon  on  the  royal  jelly  in  the  wax 
cell  cup.  This  work  should  always  be  done  on  a bright  day  and  with  a tem- 
perature of  not  less  than  80  degrees  F. 

Having  grafted  all  of  the  cells,  the  frame  is  ready  to  be  placed  in  the  hive. 
Many  beekeepers  use  a queenless  colony  to  get  the  cells  accepted  and  started. 
However,  the  general  practice  is  to  raise  the  brood  (both  young  and  emerging). 
All  the  brood  is  taken  from  the  brood  chamber  with  the  exception  of  one 
frame  left  below  with  the  queen.  The  brood  combs  are  replaced  with  empty 
combs  for  the  queen  to  lay  in.  This  brood  is  placed  above  the  excluder,  on 
the  same  colony  and  the  frame  of  grafted  cells  placed  in  the  center  of  the 
brood.  Many  beekeepers  believe  that  better  results  are  secured  if  one  or 
two  extracting  supers  are  placed  between  the  excluder  and  the  cell  building 
chamber.  Sugar  syrup  should  be  poured  over  the  frames  so  that  the  bees 
will  start  work  more  readily  on  the  cells.  A small  garden  sprinkling  can  is 
good  for  this  feeding.  The  cells  will  be  drawn  out  and  capped  in  this  chamber 
because  everything  above  an  excluder  is  queenless  as  far  as  the  bees  are  con- 
cerned in  cell  building. 

Where  young  brood  is  raised  above  an  excluder  great  care  must  be  taken 
in  finding  and  cutting  out  the  queen  cells  started  on  the  combs.  A queen 
cell  started  from  an  old  larvae  will  hatch  before  the  artificial  cells  are  ready  to  be 
removed  and  such  a queen  will  destroy  all  of  the  developing  queen  cells. 


Fig.  4.  Capped  queen  cells  ready  to  be  removed  from  the  cell  bar.  (Courtesy  Michigan  Agricultural 

College). 


9 


Ten  days  after  the  grafted  cells  are  placed  in  the  cell  building  colony  they 
should  be  capped  and  ready  to  emerge  in  another  day  or  two  (Fig.  4).  Do 
not  let  the  cells  remain  in  the  colony  longer  than  the  tenth  day.  To  do  so 
would  probably  destroy  all  of  the  cells.  If  one  queen  emerges  she  will  do 
her  best  to  see  that  the  remaining  cells  are  destroyed.  Do  not  trust  to 
memory  for  the  date  that  the  cell  bar  was  grafted,  but  write  it  down  some 
place  where  it  can  be  found. 

The  cell  building  chamber  can  be  used  indefinitely  by  raising  two  or  three 
frames  of  emerging  brood  every  week.  The  raising  of  the  emerging  brood 
provides  a constant  supply  of  nurse  bees  to  care  for  the  queen  cells. 

Time  to  Rear  Queens. 

The  commercial  queen  breeder  cannot  select  the  most  desirable  time  to 
rear  queens,  but  must  use  artificial  means  to  secure  results.  The  beekeeper 
rearing  queens  for  his  own  use  can  usually  wait  until  conditions  are  suitable 
for  the  work.  To  secure  the  best  results  the  air  temperature. should  range 
from  warm  to  hot  and  there  should  be  nectar  coming  in.  It  is  not  necessary 
to  have  a heavy  flow,  a light  steady  flow  will  serve  the  purpose.  If  the  flow 
should  stop  the  colonies  that  are  drawing  cells  must  be  fed  with  a thin  sugar 
syrup. 

If  there  are  queenless  colonies  early  in  the  spring,  cfo  not  attempt  to  rear 
queen  cells  but  order  a queen  from  some  Southern  breeder.  Good  queens 
cannot  generally  be  reared  in  the  early  spring  months  in  Michigan  because 
of  the  low  temperature.  Commercial  breeders  in  this  State  do  not  plan  on 
filling  orders  for  queens  before  May  15  to  June  1. 

Caring  for  the  Capped  Queen  Cells. 

Queen  cells  should  always  be  handled  with  the  greatest  of  care.  A queen 
cell  handled  roughly — turning  them  up-side-down,  bruising,  dropping, 
chilling — will  often  result  in  killing  the  pupa  or  in  the  emerging  of  an  imper- 
fect queen. 

Mating  Nuclei. 

The  capped  cells  having  been  removed  from  the  cell  bar,  they  may  be 
introduced  directly  into  the  colonies  to  be  requeened,  or  the  cells  may  be 
introduced  to  mating  nuclei. 

There  are  a number  of  different  stjdes  of  mating  nuclei  hives  being  used 
and  the  majority  of  them  require  special  equipment. 

The  most  economical  method  of  making  mating  nuclei  equipment  is  to  use 
eight  or  ten  frame  hives.  The  hives  are  divided  into  bee  tight  compartments, 
each  compartment  holding  two  Hoffman  frames.  The  entrances  are  so 
arranged  that  no  two  are  on  the  same  side  of  the  hive.  The  top  of  each 
nucleus  is  covered  with  a piece  of  oilcloth.  Great  care  must  be  taken  to  make 
the  partitions  between  the  compartments  absolutely  bee  tight. 

The  formation  of  the  mating  nuclei  is  a simple  matter  when  the  standard 
eight  or  ten  frame  hive  is  used.  One  frame  of  emerging  brood  and  adhering 
bees,  and  one  frame  of  honey  and  pollen  is  placed  in  each  compartment. 
The  entrance  to  each  newly  formed  nucleus  should  be  closed  with  grass. 
Twenty-four  hours  later  the  grass  should  be  removed  and  the  cells  or  virgin 
queens  may  be  given  to  the  newly  formed  nuclei. 


10 


The  mating  queen  should  not  be  allowed  to  remain  indefinitely  in  the 
mating  nucleus  as  she  will  soon  fill  the  empty  cells  with  brood  and  swarm  out. 

Nursery  Cages. 

Some  beekeepers  prefer  placing  the  capped  cells  in  nursery  cages.  When 
the  nursery  cage  is  used  the  cages  are  placed  in  a specially  constructed  frame, 
(Fig.  2).  This  frame  is  then  placed  in  the  brood  nest  where  the  proper  incu- 
bation temperature  is  maintained  and  there  the  queens  emerge.  The  virgin 
queens  are  fed  through  the  wire  screen  by  the  nurse  bees.  The  virgin  queens 
should  be  removed  from  the  nursery  cages  and  introduced  within  a day  or 
two  after  emerging.  The  majority  of  queen  breeders  and  beekeepers  prefer 
to  introduce  the  queen  cells  direct. 

If  the  beginner  is  not  successful  in  getting  the  first  cell  bar  accepted,  try 
again  within  a few  days.  Quite  often  the  second  or  third  bar  of  cells  is  more 
readily  accepted  than  the  first. 

To  the  beginner,  the  rearing  of  queens  presents  many  intricate  problems 
but  by  careful  study  and  giving  strict  attention  to  the  small  details  the  novice 
should  readily  overcome  them. 

To  any  beekeeper  who  desires  to  go  into  queen  rearing  extensively,  the 
writer  would  suggest  that  one  or  more  of  the  books  on  queen  rearing  be 
secured  and  studied  diligently. 

Following  is  a list  of  some  of  the  available  books  on  queen  rearing. 
Practical  Queen  Rearing — Pellet. 

Scientific  Queen  Rearing — Doolittle. 

A.  B.  C.  & X.  Y.  Z.  of  Bee  Keeping — A.  I.  and  E.  R.  Root 
Modern  Queen  Rearing — M.  T.  Pritchard. 


UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLIN0I8-URBANA 


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on  successful  damme. 


EUROPEAN  FOUL  BROOD 

BY 

B.  F.  KINDIG, 

Director  Apiary  Inspection 


BULLETIN  No.  5 
May  1,  1922 


EUROPEAN  FOUL  BROOD 


European  Foul  Brood  is  a bacterial  disease  which  causes  the  death 
of  the  larvae  of  workers,  queens,  and  drones.  It  attacks  them  normally 
when  they  are  about  three  days  old  and  usually  kills  them  before  the 
cells  are  capped.  The  disease  is  quite  variable  in  its  severity;  in  some 
cases  most  of  the  uncapped  larvae  are  affected  while  in  other  colonies 
or  under  different  conditions  of  season  or  honey  flow,  but  very"  few  lar 
vae  may  be  attacked. 

DISTRIBUTION 

European  Foul  Brood  is  found  in  nearly  every  county  in  the  central, 
southern,  and  western  part  of  the  Lower  Peninsula.  Several  years  ago 
Dr.  E.  F.  Phillips  of  the  Bureau  of  Entomology,  United  States  Depart- 
ment of  Agriculture,  called  the  attention  of  the  writer  to  what  seemed 
to  be  a striking  coincidence,  in  that  European  Foul  Brood  seemed  to 
be  particularly  virulent  on  the  poorer  types  of  soil.  The  truth  of  this 
statement  seems  to  be  well  borne  out  in  the  distribution  of  the  disease 
in  the  various  counties.  While  the  disease  is  frequently  met  with  on 
the  heavier  types  of  soil,  yet  it  appears  as  a serious  menace  largely  on 
the  lighter  soils  where  there  is  but  little  incoming  nectar  during  the 
spring  and  early  summer  months.  There  are  many  counties  in  the 
State  from  which  the  disease  has  not  been  reported.  This  should  not 
be  construed  to  mean  that  such  territories  are  immune  from  the  malady. 
On  the  contrary,  it  seems  to  be  purely  an  accident  that  this  trouble  has 
not  appeared  in  many  of  these  counties. 

PREDISPOSING  CONDITIONS 

As' noted  above,  areas  in  which  there  are  but  few  nectar  secreting 
flowers  during  the  early  part  of  the  season  seemed  to  be  favorable  for  the 
development  of  the  disease.  As  Italian  bees  are  essential  for  the  control 
of  this  disease,  it  therefore  follows  that  in  those  communities  where  the 
black  bees  predominate  European  Foul  Brood  is  particularly  serious. 
It  has  also  been  noted  that  the  poor  wintering  of  bees  is  exceedingly 
favorable  to  rapid  progress  of  the  disease.  Those  colonies  are  particu- 
larly susceptible  which  are  weak  in  numbers  and  slow  to  build  up  either 
because  of  insufficient  strength  or  because  of  the  presence  of  a failing 
queen. 


STRENGTH  OF  COLONY  IN  RELATION  TO  DISEASE 

Strong  colonies  of  bees  attempt  to  eradicate  the  disease  from  the 
hive  by  carrying  out  the  dead  larvae.  This  reminds  one  of  the  reaction 
of  a strong  colony  to  the  presence  of  wax  moths.  Weak  colonies  seem 
to  make  but  little  effort  to  clean  out  the  diseased  larvae  as  they  appear. 
The  carrying  out  of  the  dead  larvae  seems  to  be  an  important  factor  in 
retarding  the  spread  of  the  disease  within  the  colony.  Nurse  bees  have 


often  been  observed  sucking  the  juices  from  the  bodies  of  the  dead  lar- 
vae. Doubtless  the  nurse  bees,  because  of  their  contamination  with  the 
bacteria,  form  the  principal  agency  in  the  dissemination  in  the  hive. 

Very  little  is  definitely  known  regarding  the  spread  of  the  disease 
from  hive  to  hive  or  from  one  apiary  to  another.  It  has  been  definitely 
shown,  however,  that  the  disease  can  be  transferred  by  the  agency  of 
the  honey  taken  from  the  diseased  colonies. 

DIAGNOSIS 


The  larvae  are  first  affected  by  European  Foul  Brood  while  they  are 
curled  up  in  the  backs  of  the  cells  adjacent  to  the  midrib  of  the  comb. 
Frequently  the  larvae  seem  to  move  about  slightly  before  death  and 
ead  larvae  change  in  color  from  pearly  white  to  gray  or  yellow  and  if 
term  it  ted  to  remain  in  the  cells  they  may  become  a yellowish  brown  or 
town  in  color.  The  larvae  do  not  adhere  tightly  to  the  cell  walls.  In 
udous  cases  there  is  usually  a decided  odor.  There  is  but  slight  ropi- 
ness,  if  any  a,t  all.  Queen,  worker,  and  drone  larvae  seem  to  be  equally 
susceptible  to  the  disease.  * 

In  case  of  any  doubt  in  diagnosis  of  disease,  write  to  the  Director 
of  Apiary  Inspection,  Department  of  Agriculture,  Lansing,  Michigan 
asking  for  a box  in  which  to  mail  a sample  of  the  diseased  comb.  The 
comb  should  not  be  wrapped  in  waxed  .paper  nor  mailed  in  tin  con- 
tainers. 


TREATMENT 

During  the  past  ten  years  the  methods  of  treatment  for  European 
Foul  Brood  have  been  changed  quite  radically.  The  transferring  of  the 
bees  from  the  diseased  hive  is  no  longer  advocated. 

E.  W.  Alexander  of  New  York  and  Dr.  C.  0.  Miller  of  Illinois,  dem- 
onstrated conclusively  that  the  destruction  of  combs  and  the  loss  of 
brood  were  unnecessary  in  treating  this  disease.  Dr.  E.  F.  Phillips  has 
summed  up  the  whole  matter  of  preventive  measures : “The  practices 

of  good  beekeeping  are  those  which  result  in  the  eradication  of  Euro- 
pean Foul  Brood.”  * 

Every  beekeeper  should  look  forward  to  the  possibility  of  European 
Foul  Brood  becoming  epidemic  in  his  apiary.  Preventive  measures  are 
therefore  indicated  rather  than  awaiting  the  coming  of  the  disease  and 
then  attempting  to  remedy  the  situation.  The  following  points  are 
particularly  important  in  this  connection : Young  queehs,  an  abund- 
ance of  food,  suitable  winter  protection,  Italian  blood,  and  strong 
colonies. 

In  combating  the  disease  after  it  has  appeared,  the  queens  of  the 
diseased  colonies  should  be  killed  and  Italian  queens  of  known  resist- 
ance should  be  introduced  as  soon  as  the  bees  have  had  an  opportunity 
to  free  the  combs  from  all  dead  larvae.  The  length  of  time  required 
for  removing  the  dead  larvae  depends  upon  the  race  of  bees  and  strength 
of  the  colonies  as  well  as  the  amount  of  infection  present.  If  colonies 
are  weak,  it  is  frequently  desirable  to  unite  two  or  more  colonies.  The 
uniting  of  two  weak  discouraged  diseased  colonies  frequently  results  in 

♦'Farmers’  'Bulletin  975,  “The  'Control  of  European  Foul  Brood”  by  Dr.  E.  F.  Phillips. 


4 


a complete  change  of  morale  and  a quick  cleaning  up  of  the  diseased 
material. 

In  those  apiaries  where  most  colonies  are  headed  with  resistant 
stock,  it  is  unnecessary  to  send  away  for  queens.  Ripe  queen  cells 
from  the  best  queens  may  be  introduced  into  the  colonies  at  the  time 
the  old  queens  are  killed  or  a few  days  later  depending  upon  the  se- 
verity of  the  disease.  If  the  cells  are  introducd  some  time  after  the 
removal  of  the  queens,  then  a careful  examination  of  the  combs  must 
be  fmade  and  all  queen  cells  removed  before  introducing  the  ripe  cells. 
Negligence  in  this  matter  may  result  in  a hopelessly  queenless  colony  due 
to  the  destruction  by  the  bees  of  the  celt  introduced  and  by  the  blasting 
of  the  cells  reared  by  the  colony  because  of  the  disease  present. 

In  connection  with  the  treatment  for  disease,  beekeepers  frequently 
find  it  advantageous  to  feed  a thin  syrup  at  frequent  intervals.  After 
requeening  all  diseased  colonies  the  beekeeper  should  keep  very  close 
watch  of  the  performance  of  the  various  queens.  He  should  begin  rear 
ing  young  queens  from  those  queens  which  seem  to  produce  colonies  mq 
resistant  to  the  disease.  The  beekeeper  should  not  deoend  entirely 
upon  purchasing  queens  from  regular  queen  breeders.  He  should  lear 
to  rear  liis  own  queens  from  those  which  he  knows  are  fully  capable 
of  carrying  their  colonies  through  the  season  without  a severe  outbreak 
of  disease.  The  vigor  of  a queen  seems  to  be  impaired  by  shipping 
through  the  mail.  Vigor  is  of  exceeding  importance  in  queens  in 
apiaries  where  disease  is  present.  The  beekeeper  should  therefore  exert 
all  possible  effort  to  the  end  that  he  may  produce  all  of  his  own  queens. 
A bulletin  on  the  rearing  of  queens  is  available  for  distribution  by  ad- 
dressing the  Department  of  Agriculture,  Lansing,  Michigan. 


ir- 

jy 

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)le 


MICHIGAN  DEPARTMENT  OF  AGRICULTURE 
LANSING,  MICHIGAN 

European  foul  brood  is  the  cause  of  a tremendous  economic  loss  to 
Michigan  because  often  the  disease  so  weakens  the  colonies  that  they 
are  unable  to  store  a surplus  of  honey.  In  this  circular,  it  is  the  desire 
to  bring  to  the  attention  of  beekeepers  of  Michigan  these  practices  which 
will  reduce  the  loss  of  brood  in  the  spring  time  and  result  in  the  gather- 
ing of  a much  greater  crop.  JOHN  A.  DOELLE, 

Commissioner. 


UNIVERSITY  OF  ILUNOIS-URBANA 


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